You're Just Convenient
by MarauderGirl1
Summary: AU Its 6th year and Voldemort wants Hermione, because she is part of an ancient blood ritual. Draco and Hermione use eachother for revenge. Ginny is hanging on to the side of the light by a single strand. Betrayal, secrets, and much more.
1. Watch Where You're Going

Disclaimer: this isn't mine  
"Watch where you're going, mudblood" said Draco Malfoy, a current sixth year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As usual he wore a sneer along with a look of total and complete disgust as he gazed at Hermione Granger.  
  
"Me?! You're the one who should watch where they're going!" shouted Hermione Granger. She was on her way to library and was in quite a hurry. She really didn't need another quarrel with Malfoy slowing her down right now. She pulled herself up off the floor and glared at Malfoy. Oh, if looks could kill.  
  
They both stared at one another and then began to simultaneously pick up their things, which just so happened to be sprawled all over the hallway, evidence of the previous collision that had taken place, only minutes earlier.  
  
Hermione accidentally grabbed one of Malfoy's books and thrust it to him rather violently.  
  
"Great, now I'm going to need to buy another book! This one's covered in your filth!" Draco remarked with a look of disgust and a sneer.  
  
"Ooooh! You! You think your so high and mighty just because you're a pureblood -" Hermione was cut off before she could continue her rant.  
  
"That's because I am. Face it Granger, I'm better than you. All you'll ever be is a filthy little mudblood. I, on the other hand -" This time it was Draco's turn to be cut off.  
  
"All you'll ever be is a Death Eater who worships the ground Voldemort walks on. You're the spitting image of your father in every way and that's al you have to look forward to being, another Lucius Malfoy. You're the most horrible person I've met in my entire life!" Hermione said this all very quickly as if she had been waiting a while to say it and then stormed off.  
  
Draco was speechless  
  
"You'll pay for that, mudblood!" He screamed down the hallway at her retreated form. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.  
  
"Becoming more and more like him every day, aren't you?" she said this with a smirk, which was very Un-Hermione like, and then she was gone. 


	2. The Blue Notebook

Disclaimer: I don't own this  
  
**stars mean thought**  
  
Back in the Slytherin dormitories, Draco was fuming! **How dare she insinuate that I'm anything like my father? I'm nothing like him**. Draco kept repeating this to himself as some sort of mantra. **And, who ever said that I was going to be a Death Eater. Bloody fools if you ask me. She gets me so worked up!**.  
  
He dumped his bag on his bed and searched for his Transfiguration book. "Bloody McGonagoll", Draco muttered under his breath. He grabbed his book but then he spotted something he hadn't noticed before. Sitting on his bed, along with all the rest of his schoolbooks, lies a blue notebook.  
  
Draco picked it up and turned it over in his hands a few times. **Must belong to the mudblood**, he thought. Well, that was all he needed to spark his curiosity, and besides it might serve as good blackmail material. Draco smirked, the opened it to the latest entry.  
  
November 4  
  
Another day of school gone by. I love Hogwarts and enjoy doing my work, but lately things have been, well rather boring. It's only my sixth year and already the pressures of becoming an adult are starting to become a daily issue. I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know what they want, but deep inside I know this isn't true. Thing's may be boring around here, but that doesn't make them any less tense. Voldemort is finally back in power and believe me diary, that's not a good thing. I feel so worried for Harry, but he seems to be okay with it. Ron has been acting very strange lately, but I'm sure it must be my imagination. Sometimes I wish I knew what the future held for me, and for all my friends, but I guess I'm lucky that I don't because me, being the "mudblood" that I am, may not have one. Hermione Granger Sixth year Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Now Draco knew the book belonged to Granger and it seemed that she, like him was confused about the future. **She's right about one thing, that's for sure. Voldemort is in power now, and that may cause just as many problems for me, as it will for her. Oh well, at least I'm not a mudblood.**  
  
Back in the hallway, Hermione was struggling to carry her many books to the library, her initial destination. "Oh, it must be in here somewhere!" she exclaimed out loud. Hermione was looking for her blue notebook, and tried to think of what she might have done with it. "I know it was here with me when I left for the library, and then." she trailed off "Malfoy must have grabbed it by mistake. Oh no!"  
  
She made her way to the library a bit more dejectedly than before. "Well, things just can't get any worse can they?" Her famous last words 


	3. Betrayal

Disclaimer: I don't own this  
  
The next morning, things didn't get any better for Hermione. She slept through her alarm clock and was running a bit late; due to the late studying she had done last night. She hoped seeing Harry and more importantly Ron would cheer her up, even though they had been acting quite strange, recently, Ron, especially.  
  
Hermione and Ron had been dating since mid- fifth year and they had gotten along well enough, for them anyways. They continued fighting, as usual but it was more teasing than actual fighting, they had actually grown close, but lately Ron seemed distant. Him and Harry both seemed like they were hiding something, she just hoped she could figure it out before it drove her crazy, or worse it got them into trouble.  
  
"Good morning Ron, Harry" Hermione greeted them as they walked down the stairs from the boy's dormitory, they certainly didn't look happy. Harry kept shooting glances between Ron and her.  
  
"Oh, h-hey 'Mione" Ron said looking shifty. **Yes, something is definitely going on around here**, Hermione thought  
  
"Ron, what's going on, you've been acting very odd as of late, you too Harry, are you hiding something?" she asked them both  
  
Hermione looked at them both with her piercing stare but they just shook their heads and Harry said "nothing"  
  
"Lets just go to the Great Hall, I'm starving" said Ron, not in his usual enthusiastic voice that he got when he was speaking about food, he looked almost guilty, like he was dreading something. **I'll figure out what they're up to, no doubt about that**, she thought to herself  
  
"Alright" Hermione muttered and then walked out of the portrait, pausing, to wait for them to catch up.  
  
At the Great Hall, Dumbledore was getting ready to make an announcement.  
  
"Hurry up you two, I don't want to miss this!" she practically shrieked.  
  
Hermione hastily found a seat and motioned for them to hurry up and sit down. They listened as Dumbledore spoke.  
  
"Attention everyone!" he said and continued once everyone quieted down. "This year we're going to have 2 Balls." Groans, excited whispers and squeals were heard all around "The first one is to be this Christmas and Hogsmeade weekends will be more frequent as the Ball approaches, there will be more information posted in your common rooms. Now, tuck in!" Then Dumbledore sat down.  
  
Hermione looked over at Ron who was looking back her with an even more guilty expression on his face. Then, he turned and looked at the approaching Lavender with a wary expression. Lavender sat down next to Ron and they whispered to each other for a few moments and then Lavender smiled. They both turned to look at Hermione.  
  
"Ron, what's going on? I know something is going on and I demand to know at once!" Hermione yelled at him.  
  
"Well, you see Hermione, I-well- Lavender and I are going to the ball together" Ron said and then looked down at his plate  
  
**It all made sense now. The shifty looks, the guilty expressions, how he and Harry always skirted around my questions. Wait a minute, this must have been going on for a while now, and Harry knew! ** Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes but she didn't want to let them fall so she hastily rubbed by eyes.  
  
"How long has this been going on? And Harry, you knew! Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked as she stared at them. None of them said a word except for Ron.  
  
"Mione, listen-" she cut him off  
  
"Don't call me 'Mione" Hermione knew her voice sounded harsh, but right now she just didn't care. And with that, she stalked out of the Great Hall without another word. 


	4. When Fate Works Against You

Disclaimer: I don't own this  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Across the Great Hall at the Slytherin table, Draco witnessed the entire scene made. He chuckled to himself. Looks like the Weasel has finally found some taste. Serves the mudblood right. He then turned his attention back to his own table where Crabbe and Goyle were laughing stupidly and stuffing their faces life fat oafs. **I need to get out of here** Draco thought to himself  
  
Draco Malfoy walked out the Great Hall and made his way to Transfiguration. On the way there, he heard a noise.  
  
"Whose there" he called out, when no one answered he just shrugged it off. Probably mudblood Granger crying her eyes out. He smirked to himself and continued on his way to class.  
  
When Draco arrived, he set down his books and since no one was there, he picked out a seat and began to take out his homework to finish it up.  
  
After about 15 minutes, the rest of the class had found their way to their seats. Everyone except, you guessed it, Potter, Weasley and Granger. **They're probably off somewhere becoming best buddies again. The thought itself just makes me sick**.  
  
Just then the door flew open and Weasley walked in, followed closely by Potter, and to Draco's surprise, no Granger. **Wait, why do I even care? I don't. ** Draco reassured himself. The two idiots took their seats near the back by Weasley's new victim, Lavender Brown.  
  
Ten minutes passed, and still no Hermione. **Wait, what the hell, still no mudblood. Good Riddance, but it looks like I spoke too soon. Just as class was about to start she burst in looking frantically for a vacant spot, because it appeared that Potty and Weasel didn't save her one. Ouch. And oh, wouldn't you know, the only vacant spot was by me**. Draco smirked. 


	5. Pull Yourself Together!

Disclaimer: I don't own this  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
**Damnit, I was almost late**, Hermione thought. She looked around for a seat but it looked as though her "friends" hadn't saved her one. Looks like they had enough room for Lavender though. Hermione couldn't help but feel betrayed, both of them have been distant for weeks and now this just was too much. She guessed the only real reason she was ever around was because Ron had a thing for her. **If they didn't like me, the least they could have done would have been to tell me right away, instead of waiting this long. No, that cant be right, I'm usually always included in everything.but had they been using me all along? No, I just can't believe they would do that. Not Harry, not Ron.maybe we really had just grown apart. I can understand that I guess, but it still hurts. ** She thought to herself, now downcast  
  
Now where could she sit? Fate really didn't seem to be on her side today, the only empty spot was beside Malfoy. Hermione reluctantly walked over to him, with her chin up, and sat down as if nothing was bothering her. Lavender was in her seat, so she had to sit here, she couldn't believe she'd been replaced. **Maybe I just haven't seen the signs, things haven't been right with us for a while. I've just been too blind to see it. Deal with it Hermione, friend's drift apart every day, what makes you so special? **She thought to herself  
  
She unpacked her books and McGonagoll walked in. "Good morning everyone, please take out your textbooks and turn to page 24."She waited while everyone followed her directions and then continued, "You and your partner are going to be studying human transformation"  
  
"Looks like we're working together" Malfoy said  
  
"Looks like we are" Hermione said, turning to the correct page in the book.  
  
"Now class, you and your partner have all weekend to complete this paper, and I do expect it to be completed for your presentations on Monday" McGonagoll said and the entire class, save for Hermione groaned.  
  
"Okay Malfoy, we should meet sometime over the weekend and work on the paper, how about-" Again she was being cut off by Malfoy  
  
"How about 6p.m. sharp at the library tonight" he said  
  
"Alright, now, we should get started so we have less work to do over the weekend" Hermione heard herself say and Malfoy surprisingly had no objections. Funny, Malfoy actually seems ready and willing to work, Hermione's dream partner if only he wasn't a Malfoy. For the rest of class, Hermione and Malfoy worked in silence, with Hermione sneaking peeks at Ron and Harry.  
  
"So mudblood, been replaced already?" Malfoy asked nonchalantly. How she hated that tone of his. But he's right.. She had been replaced, so she turned to Malfoy and just said "whatever"  
  
"What? No witty response? No comeback?" he said all this with a hint of amusement in his voice.  
  
"No Malfoy, I just don't care anymore" and then Hermione looked him, her face devoid of any emotion whatsoever. This wasn't the answer he was looking for and his face showed it too, he looked shocked and totally put off.  
  
"Pull yourself together Granger" he said and then went back to his work.  
  
**Pull myself together? Oh, I'll pull myself together all right. I'll show everyone just how together I am. The world thinks they know Hermione Granger? Well, they better look out because they wont know what hit them. ** With that final thought, she continued working. 


	6. Your Up To Something

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
She had an odd glint in her eye. Being around the Wonder Trio for 5 years, Draco knew that meant trouble of some sort. The mudblood was up to something, and he want to know what, Draco thought as he was walking into the library to meet Granger.  
  
Draco pushed open the library door and swaggered in. **Well surprise, surprise! Granger's already here. **  
  
"Your up to something" He blurted out before he could stop himself. She looked at him, an amused expression playing on her features and Draco knew right then she wasn't going to tell him a damn thing. "Yes of course I am Draco, we did meet here to work on the Transfiguration paper," she said, "I know that mudblood!" Draco replied, "I meant" then he lowered my voice "I meant your up to something else"  
  
She just continued to stare at me "Well, snake" she said with a mock innocent look on her face "even if I was up to something, what makes you think I'd let you in on what it was?" Draco knew his face showed shock "Because, as your superior, I deserve to know" he said seriously, holding his head up high. Then she burst out laughing. "Oh Malfoy, your always good for a laugh" said Hermione, then "Now, sit down so we can work on this paper" in a dangerous voice, that even he knew meant not to question her or else. Reluctantly, Draco sat down.  
  
If she could hear him muttering curse words under my breath, which he was positive she could, she chose not to comment.  
  
After about 30 minutes of working she got up.  
  
"Where are you going?" Draco asked her  
  
"I'm going to get a book" and then she walked away, only to return about 5 minutes later  
  
"That was fast" he commented  
  
She shrugged her shoulders and said simply "I know the library" then she opened up her book and flipped through the pages, scanning each one, Draco could tell when she found what she was looking for because her eye's lit up. **Odd, getting all excited over books. Must be a mudbood thing, or a smart person thing. ** Draco snorted and continued laughing only to stop abruptly when he realized that he had just indirectly thought Granger to be smart. **Granted, she is top of the class, but that's still no excuse! ** She looked at him strange.  
  
"You're acting very odd"  
  
"Well you just mind your own business, mudblood, it doesn't concern you, well actually it-"  
  
"Enough Malfoy, I'll leave you alone, just shut up" she said exasperated. Then she stood up.  
  
"Well, I think that's enough for tonight. Same time tomorrow?" not waiting for his response "good. Okay, bye!" then she grabbed her things and walked off  
  
**Who does she think she is? I'm a Malfoy, I don't get told what to do, I tell others what to do. Yeah, but Granger's different, for some reason she doesn't fear me. There isn't even a word to describe her behavior. She baffles me. **He thought to himself  
  
Before Draco realized what he was doing he yelled "Wait!" she stopped, turned around and walked back towards him "I have something of yours" then he pulled out her blue notebook and waved it in front of her. She tried to grab it, but Draco just held it out of her reach.  
  
"Not so fast Granger" he said to her "You want this back and I want to know what it is you're up to"  
  
She looked at him and her face showed her inner turmoil. Anyone could tell that she was debating with herself on whether or not to tell him.  
  
Finally it looked like she reached a conclusion.  
  
"Okay, I'll tell you" she said, defeated, **and she'd do well to remember that too. Malfoy's always defeat others**  
  
"I'm going to show them all!" Then before Draco could react and stop her, she snatched her book and ran away. **Stupid Granger. ** 


	7. Draco Malfoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
The next morning on the way to potions Hermione bumped into Malfoy  
  
"You! Oh no" she said  
  
"What, not happy to see me Granger?" Malfoy retorted but it was lost on her because she was staring at Ron and Lavender. Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes again, but she had a plan. She wouldn't let him get the best of her.  
  
"Oh, hey Draco!" Hermione yelled really loud and noticed Ron and Lavender look up at the sound of her voice and then quick as lightening she pulled Malfoy's lips to her own and kissed him with as much passion as she could muster. Hermione grinned when she heard Ron's and Lavender's gasp. Then she pulled away and said  
  
"Later Draco" and continued walking to class  
  
"Oh, hey Ron, Lavender" Hermione smiled at them innocently  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Ron yelled at her  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about" she said right back  
  
"YOU JUST KISSED MALFOY!!!" He practically yelled, and his face was turning redder by the moment.  
  
"Yeah, so? Your not my keeper, I can kiss whoever I want, and well Malfoy is attractive, so why not?" she asked him, barely containing her laughter at his rage.  
  
"He's the enemy!" he screamed at her  
  
"Yeah well, so what Ron? I'm not yours anymore, and frankly none of you have been paying any attention to me for a while now, so sorry to be rude, but it's really none of your business" Hermione said this as calmly as she could to him  
  
Then Lavender spoke up. **Oh, bad choice on her part**  
  
"Listen 'Mione, I know you must be feeling hurt by all this" she gestured to herself and Ron "But that's no reason to kiss Malfoy!"  
  
Hermione just stared at her. **Who is she to tell me anything? **  
  
"Well, Lavender, we haven't exactly been the best friends, well ever, so I don't think you know what's best for me, now, If you'll excuse me I'd really rather not be late for Potions" And with that, she left them standing there with shocked expressions on their faces. **Serves them right. Phase one of my plan is complete. ** Hermione smiled. 


	8. Guilt

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Hermione sat down at a table by herself in the Potions classroom and waited for the rest of the class to come in. After about 5 or so minutes, people began to slowly enter the room and take their seats. The Slytherins just stared at her in shock, while the Gryffindors glared at her, well all except for Harry. He just looked confused. She began to feel a bit bad about plotting revenge against Harry; he wasn't at fault as much as Ron was. She picked up her things and walked over by Harry and sat down.  
  
"Hey Harry," Hermione said, looking at him, slightly guilty.  
  
"Hey 'Mione" he said, looking at her with a look of complete and utter confusion.  
  
"Harry, I'm sorry for acting so horribly, it's just that lately, for weeks now, I've felt left out. Has Ron been seeing Lavender for long?" she asked him, curiously  
  
He needn't say anything though; the look on his face gave her all the answer she needed. She felt so used.  
  
"Hermione, I wanted to tell you so badly and now that it's happened, I feel awful, I want you to know that I don't agree with what Ron is doing and that I'll stand by you," said Harry, looking at her. She felt tears of happiness in my eyes, as sappy as that was.  
  
"Oh, thank you Harry, you don't know what this means to me" Hermione told him while giving him a hug.  
  
Just then the Potions teacher, Professor Snape burst in through the door and immediately barked "New Seats"  
  
"Potter, so sit with Parkinson" Harry looked like he was about to say something in protest, but Snape just yelled "Now! Hurry up!" and Harry had no choice, so he moved over to sit by Pansy  
  
"Weasley! Go sit by Crabbe!" Ron didn't say anything but his face was turning a nice shade of red.  
  
"And, Ms. Granger, I believe you should sit by Mr. Malfoy" with a wicked grin. **I know he enjoys this. ** Hermione stayed where she was, a defiant look plastered on her face, and Malfoy reluctantly moved over by her.  
  
"Now class, were going to be making a simple sleeping draught" Hermione was surprised because this work seemed too easy "Madam Pomphrey need some, so the best potions will be sent to her" he finished.  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work!" he yelled at them  
  
Everyone immediately began gathering ingredients.  
  
"So, Granger, want to explain what the hell you were doing out there?"  
  
Hermione turned to look at him 


	9. Convenient

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
"Nothing Malfoy, now just shut up and get to work!" she exclaimed and began to chop up our spiders, Draco felt that he had better speak up before she gets too engrossed in this potion.  
  
"Now, that's not very nice" he said to her  
  
"I don't like you Malfoy, why would I be nice?" she asked, looking at him, an innocent expression on her face.  
  
"Well, it seemed like you liked me a few minutes ago, when we were kissing in the hallway, or did you forget?" Draco asked her, amused  
  
"You" she started "You were just..convenient" she turned away, ashamed.  
  
Well, that was a shock, but he could use this to his advantage. **Father's coming to visit me soon. Bloody Hell! He's coming to take me to get the Dark Mark. I'm not joining that fool Voldemort; I don't care what he says. He hate's mudblood's, well so do I, but that's not the point. If she can use me to make the Weasel jealous, then I can use her to make father angry. ** Thought Draco  
  
"Listen Granger, I'm not stupid, I know exactly what you were doing out there, and I have a proposition for you. I need you to return the favor," he said this to her and then paused waiting for her reaction.  
  
Surprisingly she looked interested in what Draco had to say. **Malfoy charm, I've always said**. Anyways were getting off track here.  
  
"I'm listening," she said  
  
Draco smiled; who knew Granger wasn't a bloody uptight goody two-shoes? 


	10. Because I'm My Own Person!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
After Potions was over Hermione walked to Harry and they went to Charms together, talking on the way there.  
  
"I just need a change Harry, the world is going to see a new Hermione Granger because frankly, I'm tired of who I am now" she told him  
  
Harry looked worried about what she said almost as if he didn't want her to change, but simply muttered "whatever you want 'mione"  
  
Hermione simply ignored his reaction because she was going to change whether he liked it or not.  
  
Walking into the charms classroom she noticed that Ron and Lavender were calling Harry over to sit with them. Might as well show them that she was not afraid of them and their comments, which were sure to come after the little display before potions.  
  
"Hello Harry" Ron said and totally ignored Hermione's presence. **Fine, if that's how he was going to be good for him. Immature prat. **  
  
"Hey Ron" Harry said "Lavender" simply acknowledging her.  
  
No one said a word to Hermione, but she sat down anyhow. **This is my usual seat, I'm not moving for them, not yet anyways. ** She thought  
  
"Hello everyone" Hermione said looking pointedly at Ron and Lavender who didn't even utter a word in response.  
  
"Oh, you guys! This is absolutely ridiculous!" She shouted at them  
  
"US?! We're ridiculous?! Hermione, I think you're off your rocker!" Ron yelled at her  
  
Okay not exactly the response she was looking for, but you win some, you lose some.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about" Hermione said back, innocently.  
  
"Oh yeah right 'mione, just pretend you never kissed Malfoy" Ron said, his voice filled with sarcasm, which was something no one was accustomed to hearing from him of all people. Malfoy on the other hand.wait a minute.forget Malfoy. Hermione scolded herself.  
  
"What?" screeched Harry "I didn't know you kissed Malfoy! I suppose you just forgot to tell me that, didn't you?" he continued, staring at Hermione with anger.  
  
"What does it matter if I did? Maybe I did it for a reason! Am I not allowed to have a life?" she asked them "because you guys don't let me have one. If I'm not exactly hoe you want me to be, you guys ignore me until I change back, or your bored! And even then, you monitor my every move! You guys are supposed to trust me! I am not some person for you to mold to your liking!"  
  
By now the entire class was staring at her, Ms. Perfect Granger.  
  
"We do not!" Harry screamed back "but honestly Hermione, Mafloy?! What were you thinking?"  
  
"Well it's my choice!" Hermione said back, her voice getting higher, and getting angrier by the moment.  
  
"You guys have already replaced me with her!" pointing to Lavender "but as soon as you get into trouble, you'll come to be and expect me to get you out of it!"  
  
"That's not true!" yelled Ron, getting back into the fight "and I can see now that I made the right choice by dumping you!"  
  
**Ouch. That hurt. I will not cry, I will not cry**. Instead she just stared at him.  
  
"Hermione, you know that's not true, we like to have you around and I know that right now, you must be going through something difficult but - " Hermione shut Harry up  
  
"You have no Idea what I'm going through, and it's not just Ron! What if I'm not just going through something though? What if this is me? You guys don't know me at all anymore! Something happened to me over break and I came back, changed and ever since, all you've done is distance me! It's fine if you don't like the new me, but after 5 years of friendship, you could at least have the decency to tell me instead of using me when ever you see fit, I know why you don't like me too"  
  
"Oh, and why's that? Please, enlighten us," said Ron  
  
"Because now, I'm my own person, and you can't handle that!" she yelled and then moved over to the other side of the room.  
  
**So much for reconciling with Harry, but all that needed to be said. ** By the time Charms was over, Hermione was completely alone. 


	11. I Most Certainly Will Not

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Draco Malfoy was on his way to the Great Hall at the moment, to meet Granger.  
  
He was nearing the door, when all of a sudden; a hand darted out from around the corner and pulled him aside.  
  
"What the - Granger?" he inquired  
  
"Yeah Malfoy, I thought it would be best if we weren't seen meeting, it might make your father suspicious" she said  
  
**Hmm.that's actually a good idea, I can't believe I didn't think of that, Of course I'd never tell her that**.  
  
"Okay, well lets go then" Draco said to her and they walked to the Great Hall and then outside by the entrance. They sat down on the steps and she was discreetly looking for any sign of Lucius.  
  
"Okay, he's coming!" she whispered to him  
  
"Well then. I guess we should get on with it" Draco said, his voice low and raspy. He pulled her face to his and caught her mouth in a searing kiss. And he felt free, like there was nothing else but this. Of course, he was rather disappointed when he was jolted back to reality by none other than Lucius.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?!" Lucius screamed at Draco and pushed Hermione to the ground. **Bad idea**  
  
Granger immediately got right back up and then began to, or at least tried to speak. As soon as she opened her mouth, Lucius silenced her.  
  
"Who do you think you are, you filthy little mudblood?" he asked her, his face full of hatred and disgust.  
  
"Father, leave her out of this, it's me you came to speak with, or did u forget again?" Draco reminded him  
  
"Draco, what's wrong with you, lowering your standards to such lowly creatures as this" he gestured to Granger. **I wonder when I stopped referring to her as "mudblood"? Oh yes, I remember, right about when she and I made this little deal of ours**. Lucius interrupted his thoughts  
  
"You're coming with me right this instant!" he yelled and made a grab at Draco, which he, with his fabulous seeker reflexes, dodged with ease.  
  
"I most certainly am not!" Draco protested, glaring at him.  
  
"Stop talking such nonsense boy, your coming with me, Voldemort is ready for you, and I will not be embarrassed this way!" he had his wand pointed at him, but while Lucius was ranting he failed to notice that Hermione had gotten up again and had her wand, along with.Potter?? **Where did he come from? **  
  
"No. I'm not," Draco said pulling my own wand out and pointing it at him "What are you going to do father, you outnumbered, 3 to 1"  
  
"What, are you daft, Draco? I'm not outnumbered," he said, looking at Draco as if he was losing his mind.  
  
"Sorry, but I believe you are!" said a female voice, which upon turning around, Lucius discovered to belong to Hermione Granger  
  
"You'll pay for this! Draco this isn't the last time you'll be seeing me either!" and with that, he pulled out a portkey and was gone.  
  
Draco quickly turned to Potter and Granger, and it looked as though she was just as surprised to see him as he was, if not more!  
  
"Harry! What are you doing here?" she asked him, clearly confused. Hell, Draco didn't blame her, everyone had heard about that fight.  
  
"Well, I was out on the grounds, looking for you actually, and I heard trouble so I decided to come over and see if I could help" he said  
  
"Okay but that doesn't explain why you were looking for me," she said to him, a look that clearly said 'tell me what your up to'  
  
"Well, Hermione I realized that I was being a big prat-" Harry started to say  
  
"That's for sure" Draco snickered and then realized he was on the other end of two glares.  
  
"I guess I just needed some time to cool down, and mull things over. I agree with what was said in Charms, completely. Ron and I have been neglecting you and I've realized that you've always stood by me like a true friend would and I'm willing to do anything to keep your friendship, even if it does mean, putting up with Malfoy"  
  
Both Hermione and Draco were speechless  
  
"Now, I don't know actually what it is you guys are doing, but if you want to be friends-"  
  
**Whoa there Potter** Draco thought  
  
"We're not friends!" they both blurted out at the same time. Then they looked at each other.  
  
"Granger and I have an agreement, which-" Potter cut him off  
  
"Which I don't even want to pretend to understand" he then turned his attention to Hermione. **Damnit, I mean Granger**.  
  
"So, how about it Hermione, will you forgive me, I promise to stop acting like a git, well as long as you don't kill people or join Voldemort, anyways" Harry asked, looking at her with his half smile thing. **How the hell does he do that? I know that boy isn't as innocent as he seems, but he can sure as hell play the part**  
  
She looked completely shocked as if she wasn't expecting this at all.  
  
"Friends forever?" she said  
  
"Friends forever" he agreed  
  
"Oh bloody hell! Stop this display right now!" Draco practically begged them "All this friends forever stuff, makes me want to heave"  
  
They just looked at him.  
  
"Malfoy! Can't you ever say something nice?!" Hermione asked him  
  
"But its so fun to be mean" Draco replied, his famous smirk set "besides you get all worked up and your face turns all red, actually it's kind of-" he stopped abruptly, **better not let this go too bloody far**. "I've got to go"  
  
"Kind of what Malfoy?" she asked him  
  
"Nothing!" Then Draco mumbled thanks under his breath  
  
"What was that Malfoy?" Potter asked him  
  
Draco said it a bit louder "Sorry, I still couldn't hear you, what was that?" Potter continued, pushing him to go further  
  
"I bloody said thank you!" Draco screamed at them and then stormed off.  
  
**Gryffindors** 


	12. Because Malfoy Is Meant To

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
A/N: okay I know I've been making a lot of errors with the changing from third person to first person, and it was supposed to be like changing P.O.V. between Draco and Hermione, so I could include their thoughts, but a friend pointed it out to be that I could do that in third person as well, so from now on everything will be in third person, and she's going to check it for me first. I think you fanfic junkies (I know I'm one too () call them beta readers. So thanks MalfoyMistress7  
  
Oh and thank you to my reviewers, yay! PhoenixRae, MalfoyMistress7, Probirdcool, Diana, Amanda, Sarai, Violet Fields, pooky, Alura, and IluvLOTR! Thank you so much for reviewing my story  
  
Ok on with the story  
  
* Stars mean thought *  
  
For about a week, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Lavender got along peacefully. As peacefully as one could get, mind you, when Hermione was mad at Ron and Lavender for betraying her, Ron and Lavender were mad at Hermione for kissing Malfoy, and Harry, poor unfortunate Harry was caught in the middle of it all.  
  
Hermione and Draco hadn't really spoken to one another since the previous weekend when they had an encounter with Lucius. They hadn't seen one another at all except for Potions, and they really couldn't speak to one another in there, as they had to work. Not that they wanted to. Both Draco and Hermione were wondering why exactly they had even made the agreement in the first place.  
  
**What on earth was I thinking** Hermione thought to herself when she walked into Transfiguration on Tuesday. **I mean honestly, Malfoy? What was I thinking? This is something based on jealousy, revenge, anger, and most importantly lust. Maybe I should break it off. No, I cant because that is something that the old boring Hermione would do, just because 'its wrong'**  
  
Things started to go wrong though, on a Wednesday morning in Transfiguration. Hermione was sitting at a table with Harry and opposite that table were Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zambini. Behind Harry and Hermione, sat Ron and Lavender.  
  
Everyone around could tell that Ronald Weasley was distressed, more likely angry about something. Many thought it was because of the behavior of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, but one pushed that thought aside quickly. Ron has a girlfriend already; he even broke up with Hermione for her. Ron couldn't possibly be jealous of Draco Malfoy. Could he?  
  
Today though, Ron was angrier than before and everything Hermione did, for one reason or another bothered him.  
  
"Ron" Hermione said aloud, directed towards him "Ron!" She said it again and still got no response "Ronald Weasley!" Hermione screamed at him. He just turned to look at her with an angry expression.  
  
"What is it, Granger?" he replied. Hermione just looked affronted. **Did he just call me Granger? ** She thought to herself  
  
She just stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to correct his mistake, but he had other ideas. "Well, Granger, spit it out already!" Ron yelled at her.  
  
"Ron, I don't understand, why are you acting this way? I thought everything was okay again" Hermione searched his face for any sort of feeling other than anger. She was disheartened when she found none.  
  
Ron laughed at her "Oh yeah Granger, things are just fine, what with you off fraternizing with the enemy!" He yelled at her, pointing at Malfoy, for a moment directing his anger towards him instead of her.  
  
"Don't you even start on me about that, I only did it because of you!" Hermione screamed back at him. And no longer did Ron's face hold a look of anger, but in replacement, was a look of confusion.  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked her, in a more calm expression. "Oh don't even pretend you don't know! You hurt me Ronald Weasley! I was ~trying~ to make you jealous! Are you really that thick!?" Hermione finally burst from frustration, and shouted all of this out. She felt relieved, but that feeling was turning faster and faster into panic, once she realized what she had done. She calmed herself down though.  
  
"Really, 'Mione?" Ron asked, feeling bad. "And do you really feel that way still?" Hermione moved her mouth to say 'no' but Ron cut her off before she could. "Because I've been thinking of only you these past few weeks and when I saw you kissing Malfoy, I got jealous, because I still care for you, so will you take me back?" He inquired  
  
Hermione thought this over in her head **what? He wants me back? I guess that was the original plan, but now, I don't know** For some reason, Malfoy's face kept popping into her head, and she just pushed him away **what's he doing invading my thoughts? ** She thought to herself. **Stop thinking about Malfoy! Ron wants you back! So why don't I care? ** It then occurred to her, that ever since her and Malfoy had made their little agreement, she hadn't been thinking about Ron much at all.  
  
"No, Ron I wont." She said to him, quietly. His face held shock and even a bit of the anger looked like it was returning. "What? Why not? Is it because of ~ him ~?" He gestured to Malfoy, who upon hearing his name being said again began paying attention.  
  
She thought about it ** what does he mean? Does he think I like Draco? Whoa, where did that come from, I mean Malfoy! He is a good kisser and-** She cut off her own thoughts, not wanting to get into that at the moment. **I couldn't possibly feel anything for Malfoy other than lust, which is all that this is, just lust** It sounded like a bad excuse even in her head **so why can't I stop thinking about him? **  
  
"No of course not, that's preposterous" Hermione said to Ron, weakly, and he and everyone else listening, knew that it wasn't exactly true.  
  
"I knew it! How long have you guys been going at it? Did u do him while we were together? Did you 'Mione? Did you tell him about how you know how-" He was stopped by a smack in the face from Hermione, who looked absolutely livid.  
  
"You shut your mouth! I never did anyone while we were together, and I can't believe you would even suggest that! I can guarantee you that I remained faithful! And as for your last comment, I can't believe you! You promised you would never tell! Who else knows my little secret now, because of you?" Hermione shrieked at Ron  
  
Ron stayed silent through her rant, but then spoke up when she was done he yelled back "That's because its all probably true, you ~ are ~ some kind of scarlet woman! And I bet you were with Malfoy all along!" Hermione just glared evilly at him, as the bell signaled the end of the class. Everyone hung around to see the end of the confrontation.  
  
"You know what Ron? I would date Malfoy before I ever went back out with you! You're a miserable git and I hate you!" She stormed off towards the door, but then turned around and faced him to add something as an afterthought "And, he's a better kisser than you!" And with that she was off.  
  
Malfoy smirked at her retreating figure. **Good for her! She shouldn't put up with that! Where the hell did that come from? Of course she should, she is after all, a muggleborn, I mean m-m-. Damn I can't even think it about her! What is happening to me!? Bloody witch is plaguing my thoughts, she is**  
  
"Well, cant argue with that, now can I?" Malfoy said aloud to the rest of the class, and then "Oh, that's too bad about Granger, Weasel, I'm sure It isn't anything I cant fix though, so don't worry" he said, directing his statement towards Ron, who although can be pretty thick didn't miss the implications of Malfoy's words.  
  
"You'll pay for that Ferret!" Ron screamed at him, but was stopped by Harry and Lavender. "Don't do it Ron" Harry said to him "Unless of course, you want to anger Hermione even more" he finished and Lavender was nodding her head.  
  
"What do I care if I upset the mudblood?" The effect of his words was instant. Harry and Lavender immediately dropped his arms and stared at him in shock and anger. "Don't you dare talk about Hermione that way" Harry said in a dangerously calm voice that made everyone around him, quake with fear.  
  
"Malfoy does it all the time, and you never act this way" Ron pointed out. Harry knew this was true, but he was also no dummy **Yes, Ron, he does, but its expected of him! Don't you realize that?! You meant it to hurt her** Harry thought.  
  
Malfoy hung around to see what Potter's reaction was to that statement, because it was true. "Yes, Ron, but Malfoy's meant to, you, aren't." Having said that, Harry left, and was followed shortly by Lavender who told Ron that since he was so in love with Hermione, he could forget dating her! After that, everyone else left the room to get to their next lesson.  
  
Walking through the halls, Malfoy thought about what Potter said. Maybe old scarhead wasn't as stupid as he thought. **He understood why I behave the way I do, hell even Granger gets it! Voldemort is a bloody hypocrite if you ask me; he is after all a half-blood. Does everyone think I'm really that bloody ignorant and stupid? If I don't behave this way, I'll be disowned, of course, I do take it a bit far sometimes, but don't we all? ** These thought were carrying him to a different place altogether **Of course, do I even really care If I'm disowned? What do I have to look forward to? Being feared for things I've never done? I don't hate mudbloods, well not totally, only the ones who are ignorant, and Granger-Whoa, why is she always in my thoughts?! Can I get no peace from her? Anyway, she certainly isn't ignorant about magic; yes Granger is all right I suppose. And I don't give a damn about Father anymore. No, last weekend, that was fulfilling. From now on, I'm going to be my own man** for the first time in a great while, Malfoy smiled as he walked to his next class. 


	13. I'm Gonna Make You Feel It

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or anything like that; I've just got the plot  
  
Thanks for the reviews: rid!, Befuzzled, earthangel, San Higurashi, Jenna- chan  
  
A/N: Anyways since it's summer vacation for me, I'll be able to post more chapters sooner, and that's a good. I'll try to work on making the chapters longer.  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast on Saturday morning, pretending his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle weren't there shoveling food down their throats faster than they could taste it. Pansy Parkinson was sitting across from him trying to be sexy, which he had to admit she was, but dumber than a doornail and a future Death Eater too. He had been there, done that, and there was no way he was going back.  
  
He continued eating and looking around the Great Hall when his eyes fell upon the Gryffindor table. Potter and Granger are sitting together and the Weasel is sitting by himself at the end of the table. Where is that Brown at, he thought to himself, glancing around the Hall? Oh there she is, sitting with Patil, looks like there will be some big story coming out soon, with the way those two are whispering.  
  
Just then the mail came swooping in. He always got mail so this was no big deal for him, but just the same he was dreading it. When his father's owl came down in front of him, he quickly grabbed the letter tied to its talons. (A/N: Is that was owls have, talons, claws? Oh well, you know what I mean)  
  
Draco  
  
I'm glad to hear that there has been no more kissing of the mudblood. Make sure it stays that way or I will find out. When I come to see you again, you had better be ready to join.  
  
Lucius  
  
Draco just crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it aside. **How dare he! I'll do whatever I please, and I know exactly what I'll do**. He stood up and strode over to the Gryffindor Table with a purpose. He searched for her spot and then walked over to where Hermione Granger sat. Making sure the entire Great Hall was watching, he pulled her into a kiss, which she returned, after all that was part of the agreement. The kiss got more and more intense, and it didn't look like either of them was willing to stop.  
  
Unfortunately, they were forced to stop when they heard someone clearing their throat. They both stopped and slowly turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing nearby, with an amused grin on his face.  
  
"As much as I love interhouse cooperation, this kind of display is inappropriate for the Great Hall," he said with his eyes twinkling. **How do his eyes do that? ** Draco and Hermione both thought at the same time. Then he walked back to the Head Table.  
  
"Thanks Hermione" Draco whispered and then walked away from the stunned faces. He did however note that the Slytherins were all writing letters, as he left. **Lucius certainly won't like that** he thought to himself.  
  
Meanwhile, everything in the Great Hall was chaos, especially the Gryffindor Table. Questions were being thrown at Hermione from everyone. She simply answered them all with "We have an agreement" and she left it with that. Of course, everyone wanted to know what exactly that agreement was.  
  
This had been the first time in over a week that they had done anything that related to their agreement though. Hermione wondered what exactly brought it on. She knew about Lucius and figured it had something to do with him.  
  
After Breakfast was over, Hermione went outside with Harry to watch him practice Quidditch for a while; he caught the snitch several times. He waved to her from his broomstick and then flew down to her.  
  
"That was great Harry!" She exclaimed "But I really do have to get going now" He just smiled and said "all right" Then flew back into the air and waved goodbye. Hermione picked up her things and headed towards the library.  
  
On the way there, she kept getting the feeling that someone was following her, but every time she turned around, no one was there. "Must be getting paranoid," She said to herself. The feeling didn't go away so she started to walk faster, but it was no use. Someone was definitely following her. She was about to turn around again when she was grabbed from behind and she couldn't scream even if she wanted to.  
  
Whoever it was that had her in their clutches, said a quick silencing charm, and then removed their hand from her mouth, but they were still able to drag her into an abandoned classroom.  
  
The door was locked and then she was thrown to the ground rather forcefully. She looked to see who her capturer was, and was surprised to see Ronald Weasley. She tried to yell at him and scream for help, but the silence charm prevented that from happening.  
  
"Look at you now Hermione, where's your Malfoy to save you now?!" He said to her evilly. Then he walked towards her and said "I'm going to give you one more chance 'Mione, cause I love you" he said, stroking her hair. He then lifted the silence charm so she could answer  
  
"I will not!" She screamed at him "You let me go this instant!" She struggled to get out of his grasp, but it was no use, he was stronger than her, so she tried to reach her wand, but he grabbed that and held it out of her reach.  
  
"I know you love me 'Mione. I know it!" He said to her, and then leaned in to kiss her, and she tried to fight it but he was just stronger and he ended up doing it. She didn't return the kiss and that just made him angrier.  
  
"Come on Hermione! I know you feel it! Just give in, I know you want to" he said, holding her down. "Ron, no, I don't want this! I don't want you! Now, let me go!" She screamed at him with everything she had  
  
"I can't do that 'Mione." He said, "I know that once you feel it, you'll want me back" he continued, "Just give in! It will be better in the end!" he yelled and forcefully pulled her face to his. She still didn't return his kiss. By now he was getting very angry and very annoyed.  
  
"Fine!" he yelled at her. "You're going to let me go?" She asked him, calmly "Because, that's what you should do and then you probably wont get into as much trouble-" Ron cut her off. "No Hermione, I'm going to make you feel it," he said  
  
"What are you talking about?" She asked him, but he just hit her and then pinned her down to the floor. She knew what was coming next. "No! Ron, please no don't do it! I'll give you a kiss, please just don't do this!" She pleaded with him, but it was too late "No I can't do that, you ~have~ to feel it!"  
  
He undid his robes and lifted up her skirt and she kept screaming at him to stop what he was doing, but he wouldn't listen. She tried with all her might to push him off, but it just wouldn't work. **If only I had my wand! I could stop this! ** She thought to herself, and then cursed at her own stupidity for getting into this mess. She had to stop this.  
  
"Ron, you don't have to do this! Just let me go!" She screamed at him again, but he wasn't even paying attention. "You'll love me once you feel it, and then you'll thank me" he said "Now shut up, and maybe I'll forgive you for being a traitor!" he finished and by now he was on top of her.  
  
"No!!!! Please STOP!!!!!!" She screamed at him, crying, but he wouldn't stop what he was doing, he just kept going at it, deaf to her pleads to stop. Finally she pushed him off and pulled on her skirt, staring at him with a look of pure hatred. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at him.  
  
"You're going to pay for this Ron! I can't believe you did that to me! After everything that's happened, I can't believe you would do that!" She screamed at him "This Ron, Is why I could never love you! You stay away from me, you and your temper!" by now she was in tears, because of what just happened, and Ron just stood there, with a look of shock on his face.  
  
"Hermione, I'm so-" he was cut off by a death glare from her and "Don't you dare apologize to me! Stay away from me!" she said this all backing away from his towards the door. "You didn't feel it?" he asked her "No! And I hate you!" then she ran away from his as fast as she could, right out of the classroom and into Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Granger! There you are, I was looking for." he trailed off when he noticed that she was shaking like a leaf, and crying her eyes out. She looked up at him with watery eyes and asked him what he wanted.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked her, looking concerned. She didn't know whether she should tell Draco or not. Might as well "It was Ron, he, he-"she couldn't go on, and just burst into more tears "And I just let him, I couldn't stop him!" she said frantically. Draco had an idea as to what she was talking about and it made him shake with rage. "Come on, let's go to the kitchens and we can talk about it there" he put an arm around her shoulder and she flinched at first, but then calmed down and headed towards the kitchens with Draco.  
  
He tickled the pear and opened the door for her and was met with the sight of Dobby hopping up and down! "Hello miss!" he screeched happily, and then noticed her downcast face and said "What is the matter miss?" then directed his speech to Draco "Master Draco! What's wrong with miss!?" he asked, alarmed, and almost in tears himself.  
  
"I'm going to find out" Draco said and then "Can you bring us some hot chocolate?" he asked the elf and then sat down at a table with Hermione who was still crying. Her face held embarrassment, anger and a few other things that Draco couldn't identify.  
  
"Come on 'Mione, whatever happened, it always feels better to talk" he said to her "What did Ron do?" he continued, looking at her, not sure why he felt so compelled to help her, but willing to do anything to make her stop crying.  
  
"Oh Draco!" she wailed and then pulled him into a hug, soaking his robes with tears "I can't believe he did that! He knew! He knew what it would do to me! It's happened before!" she screamed and of course he has no idea what she was talking about. "He wanted me to feel it, but I d-didn't want to, that's why I can't love him," she said to him, through her tears.  
  
"I feel so dirty, so used," she continued, and Draco was getting angrier by the minute at Ron. **How could he do this to her?!** He thought to himself. Ron Weasley was more and more reminding Draco of Lucius Malfoy, minus the filthy rich part.  
  
"I'm going to help you Hermione, but you have to tell me what happened" Draco said to her, and she calmed down a bit. "I know I have to tell you, but this is just, I can't believe Ron would do this to me" she said, wiping her eyes  
  
Dobby came over with two mugs of hot chocolate and said, "Feel better miss" then walked away to do elf work. Hermione pulled out of the hug and asked, "Why are you doing this?" and then continued "I mean we aren't really friends, we just kind of use each other" He didn't have an answer to that "Because, your okay Granger, you're a mudblood, but you aren't ignorant to things" he said. Hermione just stared at him, in a way he gave her a compliment and an insult, but that was Malfoy.  
  
"All right, Ron he- he" she started to cry again, but wiped her tears "he wouldn't stop, I asked him to but he wouldn't, he forced himself onto me, and wouldn't stop, and I tried to stop him, but he was stronger, and he had my wand."  
  
The glasses shattered, as a result of Draco's anger. He was furious. He believed that it was wrong to do that to a woman. He had seen enough of it at home with his mother and father, beatings and such. No one should have to take that.  
  
"And, I felt so stupid for getting into that situation, cause I'm supposed to be a smart witch, but look at me, I've been raped" she paused "twice" 


	14. Nothing Granger, Dont Worry About It

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Draco Malfoy was fuming as he walked down the hallway from Gryffindor Tower. He had just walked a crying Hermione back there, and right now he was on a mission. He didn't care how many points were taken from Slytherin; this was something that he had to do.  
  
He was searching for Ronald Weasley, and that boy better pray someone was watching over him, because when Draco was through with him, he'd be lucky if he could walk. He turned a corner, and whom should he find, but the red head himself.  
  
"Weasel" Draco said, shaking with rage "What do u want, Malferret?" he replied in an attempt to sound threatening. It didn't work, not on Malfoy anyways. "I challenge you to a Wizarding Duel" Draco said to him, holding his wand out. Weasley looked taken aback, but shrugged it off, and his fury came to surface "Finally got the courage to face me?" he taunted.  
  
"No Weasel, I could have taken you whenever I'd have felt like it, but your not too important to me, not until now that is" Draco replied "And why are you now?" he asked me.  
  
"Granger" that's all he had to say and Ron knew what he was talking about. He looked shocked and even a little scared. "Why do you care Malfoy? Taken a liking to our little mudblood have you?" Ron said to me, gaining a confidence no one knew he possessed.  
  
"Don't you talk about her that way!" Draco yelled at him, and Ron looked like he was pretty scared too. That's when the first curse went flying, sent by Ron of course. It was a tickling spell and Draco dodged it easily and sent a disarming spell his way. Ron just barely missed it and threw another weak spell and Draco barely had to do anything to block it.  
  
"Come one Weasel! Is that he best you've got?" Draco taunted him and he could tell that Weasley was getting very pissed off. They threw hexes and curses back and forth blasting the walls and everything around them until Ron just threw his wand aside and lunged at Draco whose wand went flying across the hall.  
  
Draco threw a fair amount of punches at Ron and was pretty much kicking his ass, Ron may be stronger than Hermione, but not Draco who was built well and had muscles from Quidditch. They were both bruised up a lot and were bleeding in areas, but neither of them cared. Draco was so angry about what he did to Hermione that he just let go, five years of anger and annoyance plus what he did to her, all pent up, meant ass kicking of the century.  
  
It was a while before anyone came to find them, and by then both of them were unconscious and had to be floated to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomphrey was practically hysterical when she saw them. Professor Snape brought them both in, and was waiting for them to wake up so he could get a story out of them.  
  
Finally, they began to stir, and he said, "Enervate" to wake them both. They opened their eyes and took in their surroundings. When they realized that they were in the hospital wing, they turned to glare at each other.  
  
"What is the meaning of this? Two students obviously fighting, I want to know why" Professor Snape stared at them. He looked at both of them and finally Draco said "I challenged Weasley to a Wizarding Duel"  
  
Snape looked shocked "Mr. Malfoy, you've never acted this way before, what brought on this sudden urge to challenge Mr. Weasley to a Duel?" he drawled to Draco. He answered with one simple word "Granger"  
  
That obviously wasn't the answer that Professor Snape was expecting from his star student and his face showed it too. He quickly covered it up though and requested more information. Draco answered with "I don't think it's my place to tell anything else, and if you want to know, then you'll have to find Granger and ask her"  
  
Professor Snape just looked at Draco and then Weasely and one could tell that he was desperately trying to figure things out. "Why don't we talk to Professor Dumbledore?" Ron suggested, thinking he would get off easy.  
  
Snape just smirked at him, but there were traces of despair written clearly all over his face if one looked clearly. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Mr. Weasley." Then he continued "Cornelius Fudge has taken control over the school, after turning in all 12 signatures from the School Governors. If you have any trouble, you'll have to go to him with it" Snape had a look of disgust on his face.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, will you please find Ms.Granger and bring her to my office. Mr. Weasley, follow me" Malfoy and Weasley both had a look of shock on their faces after having heard the news about Dumbledore. They didn't speak, but just followed Snape's orders.  
  
Draco Malfoy knocked on the portrait that led into Gryffindor Tower. Potter opened it up and asked "What are you doing here Malfoy?" then he seemed to notice Draco's face. Draco just ignored the once over he was getting from Potter "Have you talked to Granger?" Draco asked Harry. His face just got a little white and then filled with fury. "I'll take that as a yes then"  
  
"What's it to you Malfoy?" he asked me "Well I just got into a fight over it with Weasley and Professor Snape found us unconscious, but I didn't think it was my place to tell him why exactly we were fighting, so he sent me to get Granger" Draco replied, in a civil tone  
  
"Okay, I'll go get her" he returned a few moments later with Hermione in tow. "Can Harry come too?" she asked Draco "I suppose so" he replied, and the three of them walked away to the dungeons, where Snape's classroom await.  
  
"Oh, Draco, what happened to you?" She asked him concerned "Nothing, Granger, don't worry about it" Draco shrugged her off. "I know this has something to do with our conversation in the kitchen," she said "Maybe it does," he returned and he sent her a look that said 'don't ask anymore questions' and she just quieted herself.  
  
Potter noticed the way they interacted with each other and for some reason he smiled at their antics. They didn't even realize it either, that was what made it so priceless.  
  
"Did you guys hear about Dumbledore?" Draco asked them. Dark looks passed over their features and he knew that they had. "This is positively awful!" Hermione screeched, "What are we going to do!?" she finished  
  
"Fudge is blind to everything going on around us, Death Eaters will be able to sneak in when ever they want!" Harry commented, clearly pissed off.  
  
"No he isn't, but he's refusing to say anything cause he's loyal to Voldemort himself, how else do you think he's been in that position for so long, with Voldemort's supporters keeping him in office" Draco said, adding to the conversation  
  
The information didn't look it surprised them too much. "Well, that certainly explains his reluctance to make an announcement that Voldemort is back," said Hermione, still shaken up a bit from the events of today and then the news that Dumbledore was being taken away from the School.  
  
They arrived at Snape's office and Draco hesitated before showing them in. "Hermione, he's going to ask you the reason why I was fighting Ron, which is in all honesty because of what he did to you, but he's going to ask what happened, are you prepared to answer his questions?" Draco ask her  
  
"You bet I am, that bastard is going to pay" She said violently and Draco and Harry both backed away from her a bit. She pushed open the door and walked in sending death glares at Ron the entire time.  
  
Professor Snape looked up when they walked in and asked them to sit down. He looked towards Hermione and asked "Ms. Granger, were you aware that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley were fighting in the halls today? Both of them landed themselves into the Hospital Wing"  
  
"Yes Professor, It has been brought to my attention, I suppose your wondering why" she said getting uncomfortable.  
  
"Yes Ms. Granger" Professor Snape said, looking at her, waiting for her to continue. So she did, she told the story of how she was walking through the halls and thought someone was following her. How Ron threatened her and asked her to take him back. Then she got really stiff and shifty in her seat. She relayed everything that happened in tears almost, about how Ron raped her. She told about how she ran into Draco and he comforted her in the kitchens and then just burst into tears again.  
  
Snape glared at Ron with everything he had and surprisingly looked at Hemione with sympathy. He said that he would bring up the matter with Fudge and would try to get Ron punished by Wizarding Law. Meanwhile though, he had detention until the end of the year. He sent them all away for the night and Hermione raced to the library claiming to have to get some books.  
  
Ron just walked dejectedly back to Gryffindor Tower, finally realizing just what he had done and not being proud in the least bit. Draco told Hermione to keep herself safe and offered to walk her to the library, but she politely declined saying that she could take care of herself. Harry stopped Draco on his way to the Dungeons and asked to speak with him for a moment. Draco nodded in response and they began walking in silence until Potter broke it.  
  
"Do you love her?" he asked Draco, indicating Hermione. Draco was speechless, he didn't know what to say to that, he wasn't sure if he loved her or not. There's a chance that he could, but he just replied with "I don't know what your talking about Potter" and he turned to walk away  
  
Potter yelled after him "I can see it Malfoy, you're falling for her and she might be falling for you too! Don't let that slip away" That got his attention and he turned around, facing Potter "What are you on about, I don't feel anything for Granger" And then he went to walk away but Potter's voice rang in his ears  
  
"Anyone who sees you two together can see that you care for her!" he yelled to Draco, who just replied with "Yeah, and I can see it too" he looked at Potter and he said, "You know that she's in danger being around people like us don't you?"  
  
"Of course I do, maybe I should just end our friendship, if we even have that" Malfoy couldn't believe he was here having a conversation about Granger with Harry Potter, his enemy for years.  
  
"Don't even try it Malfoy, she wont have any of that, I've tried distancing myself to keep her safe, but there is nothing you can do, all you can do is live your life" And then Potter walked away from Draco Malfoy, towards Gryffindor Tower to join the rest of his year mates for bed.  
  
Draco Malfoy just stood there, contemplating all that had just happened. Did he love Granger? He didn't know if he loved her, but there was certainly something about that girl, that made him feel like he'd never felt before, like he had to shield her from anything bad in the world, and if he couldn't, then he felt that someone should.  
  
He walked to the Slytherin dormitories with questions running through his head. Things were starting to fall apart; Voldemort was tearing people apart and bringing them together as well. What was to happen in the coming days? Draco didn't know, but it wouldn't be good. With that he fell into a fitful sleep. 


	15. Why Don't You Call Me Hermione?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now, on with the story  
  
Hermione Granger was walking down the hallway with Harry Potter to go and meet Draco Malfoy. They were going to go see Mr. Fudge to report the rape, a crime committed by none other than Ronald Weasley.  
  
"Draco!" Hermione yelled in his direction. He turned his head to face her and Harry, and then began to walk towards them. "Granger, Potter" He said their names to acknowledge their presence.  
  
Potter glanced at Draco and then at Hermione and sent a knowing look towards Draco, who scowled. Hermione totally missed the display.  
  
Draco had been thinking about Granger an awful lot ever since the chat Potter and he'd had a couple nights ago. He still wasn't sure what exactly he felt for Granger. Was it love? He didn't think so but then again he didn't know what it was either.  
  
"Let's hurry up and get this over with." Said Harry. And they continued on their way to the Headmaster's office. When they reached the Gargoyle, they all silently wished that when they reached the door, it would be Dumbledore sitting at his desk eating lemon drops instead of Cornelius Fudge the bumbling idiot of a minister, and secret Death Eater.  
  
It was Hermione who said the password "Power" and it was odd, saying something that wasn't some sort of sweet. The Gargoyle moved out of the way and they all walked up the stairs and opened up the door to Fudge's office.  
  
"Hello students!" he greeted them in a cheerful fashion. "Mr. Potter, how wonderful it is to see you again, and Mr. Malfoy, what a magnificent surprise this is, and Ms. Granger, I do believe that you are the reason behind this visit?" he asked  
  
They all nodded. "Yes, Granger here has been the victim of a rape crime," said Draco, unconsciously putting an arm around her shoulders. Fudge looked pretty surprised at this.  
  
"A rape?" he questioned doubtfully "I don't think that could happen in this school without my knowing, and believe me I did not know" said Fudge.  
  
Hermione looked so shocked at his statements it looked like she would just die from shock. **He isn't going to believe me** she thought to herself, disbelieving. Harry's expression was unreadable, but Draco looked pissed. "What? How can you say that?" he asked, in rage. "This girl was raped 4 days ago, by a fellow student!" he yelled the last part.  
  
"And who was this student you claim to have committed this crime?" Fudge asked with a bored look on his face, yet at the same time he looked like he was giving Hermione a once over, trying to figure something out.  
  
There was silence for a few moments. Then, "Well?" Fudge pushed them to continue. "Ronald Weasley" said Hermione, staring at the ground. Fudge's eye's widened and he looked vulnerable for a moment, but then covered it up, as well as Fudge could anyway, which wasn't very well at all.  
  
"Preposterous" he said "Ron Weasley is an excellent student and I do not believe he would do such a thing" he continued, staring at them, as if daring them to make any objections. Hermione did make an objection though. "He did it, I swear! I was walking to the library when he grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a classroom" shrieked Hermione, desperately trying to get him to believe her.  
  
"Well, Ms. Granger, if this is true, someone surely would have heard your screams, and I have no record of anyone reporting any such event" Fudge said, looking at them all.  
  
"I can't believe it!" shouted Harry "Your just going to let him get away with this!"  
  
"That's enough!" said Fudge "I think its time you three left" he finished, and pointed towards the exit. Draco was just sputtering words, he couldn't believe this was happening. Ron was going to get away with everything. Something was definitely up.  
  
When they were back in the hallways, they began to talk to one another again. "Something, odd is going on," said Hermione. Draco and Harry nodded their heads in agreement. "Ron isn't an excellent student," said Harry "I mean sure, he isn't an awful one, but he hasn't done anything particularly special to have this thing dismissed like that" he finished. "And his family isn't rich either" said Draco. "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Harry, who was slightly miffed that Draco went out of his way to insult Ron's family. "No, Malfoy is right Harry," said Hermione "It means that he obviously didn't pay the Minister off to keep himself out of trouble" Draco continued.  
  
Harry nodded his head in understanding "There has to be some reason why the minister blatantly refused to accept that Granger got raped, and why he felt Weasley would never do it," said Draco.  
  
"I mean even I, can see a motive going for him to do something like that," Draco said. Granger and Potter looked at him in confusion, and asked him to go on. "Well, he hasn't got much money, and he's the youngest boy of a family of seven, must always feel overshadowed by them" he continued, then "And then being Potter's sidekick, cause that's what people see him as, Potter's best friend. And then Granger here, he obviously still has feelings for her, and then seeing me kissing her, me, his enemy for the past 5 years, must have pushed him over the edge." He finished  
  
They both, meaning Potter and Granger, widened their eyes in realization. Who knew that could be Ron? "Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that justifies what he did, I'm just saying there must be reason behind it" said Draco.  
  
"That may be, but right now, I think the Ron we knew and loved is gone. Have you noticed how he's changed in the past weeks?" Hermione asked them. Draco's face remained blank, while Harry nodded. "He's been acting really distant and cold, insulting you more than ever, even calling you mudblood behind your back," said Harry to Hermione.  
  
"Well, whatever it is, I'm going to find out," said Hermione, and neither one of them doubted her. They continued walking down the hallway when Harry left saying that he had Quidditch practice to go to.  
  
Hermione and Draco continued walking down the hall in silence. Draco broke it by speaking "So, Granger-" he started but Hermione cut him off "Draco, why do you call people by their last names?" She asked. He thought about it for a moment before replying with "I'm not sure Granger, I just do, why?" he asked  
  
"No reason really, I just wanted to know, I think we should call each other by our first names" she said casually. "Actually, I already call you by your first name, well sometimes anyway, what I'm trying to say is, why don't you call me by mine?" it was a request to be called Hermione.  
  
"Alright Hermione" he tried out the name, and it felt odd in his mouth but he liked the way it rolled off his tongue. "I like the way it sounds when you say my name" she smiled at him.  
  
"Alright ~Hermione~ I was meaning to talk to you about something." Draco said "You do know that by associating yourself with me, you're putting yourself in danger?" he finished.  
  
She stared at him "And you do realize that by associating yourself with ~me~ your putting ~yourself~ in danger?" she countered. He didn't have an answer for that.  
  
"Are we friends?" she asked him "Because I'm not sure what I would call you, I mean I wouldn't have even really gotten to know you if I hadn't kissed you that one day to make Ron jealous"  
  
"I'm glad you did" Draco said "I consider you my friend, I know I'll never be as close as Potter to you, because I'm an egotistical bastard. I know it. You know it. I'm a monster Hermione, but you treat me like.." He trailed off "You treat me like so much more than that, and I'm grateful. If you haven't noticed, I don't have that many friends" he finished, staring at her with a smile  
  
"I never would have guessed that Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, had a nice side" Hermione commented. "And don't you go telling people either, I have a reputation to keep" he puffed out his chest in pride, and she couldn't help but let a few giggles escape.  
  
"Am I really that bad?" he asked her, earnestly. "If you had asked me 2 months ago I would have said yes, but now, I'd just say you were being Draco" Hermione said with a smile.  
  
"I enjoy these conversations we have Hermione, they brighten my dark days up" Draco said, uncomfortably. He wasn't used to sharing his feelings with other people.  
  
She just smiled at him, but then she let out a scream as she felt someone grab her from behind. It took Draco a moment to realize she wasn't standing there, and he looked behind him to see her waving her arms about like a mad person. She was being held in the grasp of none other than..  
  
A/N: sorry! I just had to give you guys a cliffie. I rarely do those, and I decided it was time that I do one. I sure hate reading them but they're fun to write. ( Anyway, review! I'll try to get up another chapter sometime soon, but please, review, tell me if you like it! 


	16. Loving A Mudblood! What Will Your Father...

Disclaimer: Hey I don't own anything but the plot okay, so don't sue me!  
  
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far (  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Okay on with the story, yay!  
  
Hermione didn't know what she should do, one minute she had been talking quite happily with Draco when the next she was being grabbed from behind for the second time this week. She started waving her arms around and screaming like crazy in an attempt to get Draco's attention. Sure enough, it worked.  
  
He turned to face her and whoever she was being held by, and yelled "Hermione!" He ran towards them and whipped out his wand. Who ever was holding on to her had a mask covering their face, but that didn't stop Hermione from re-living the terror she had experienced at the hands of Ron Weasley, and by ~him~.  
  
"Let her go!" Draco shouted at the masked man, or was it woman? Neither of them knew, for whoever it was, hadn't uttered a single word as of yet.  
  
"No, I don't think I will" the now apparent man, drawled out. The voice was familiar to both of them and when Draco bit out "Lucius" harshly, his voice was in no way hesitant.  
  
"Get your hands off me, scum!" Hermione complained to him and demanded to be released. Lucius however was in no mood to comply, and remained his hold on her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Draco hissed "Its broad daylight for gods sake!"  
  
"Well Draco, had you joined our little.." he trailed off, looking for a word suitable to say out loud "our little ~club~, you'd be well aware of the reason for my presence" he finished and you could almost hear the smirk that was set on his face.  
  
"Yeah yeah, you're here on Voldemort's orders" Lucius visibly stiffened when she said this but immediately regained his cool composure. "But why would you be capturing ~me~ of all people?" Hermione asked  
  
"Yeah, no offense, but what does Voldemort want with a mudblood, just to kill her?" Draco asked, doubtful "That seems a bit extreme, to go out of his way to get Hermione captured"  
  
Hermione nodded as best she could while being in the grasp of Lucius Malfoy, he hadn't shown his face, but they were both well aware that was his identity.  
  
"Voldemort has taken a special interest in you" Lucius told her "Oh yes indeed, that's why he sent me to fetch you. Wont you come to our little get together ~Hermione~?" he finished the sentence laughing.  
  
"Well, whatever reasons he has, I wont allow it" Draco said, and he put his foot down and crossed his hands over his chest, waving his wand around distractedly.  
  
"Well that's too bad boy, you've had your chance and now I really must be off" Anger could be heard in Lucius's voice as he continued "Don't stand in my way Draco, I won't hesitate in taking desperate measures"  
  
Hermione was starting to panic, so she elbowed Lucius in the gut and being caught off guard he released her from his grasp for a moment, but it was enough for Hermione, she ran over to Draco and got behind him, holding on to his arm with her hands. Then she too pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.  
  
Shakily she said, "You had better go. Now" motioning with her wand for him to leave. This only succeeded in making Lucius angrier. He already had his wand pointed at the both of them and his lips were forming a curse, when they heard footsteps headed their direction.  
  
Lucius being no fool ran out of there, but not before yelling at them that he'd be back for the girl. Anger was radiating off Draco and Hermione was shocked to see how protective he had gotten of her.  
  
The footsteps got closer and the person making them did too. It was Pansy Parkinson, Slytherin Slut. "Hey Drakie!" she called out to him "What are you doing with the mudblood?" she asked him jealously, staring at Hermione with anger and disgust.  
  
"We're talking Pansy! What does it look like?" Draco asked her, pissed off. "Well come on then," she said, motioning with her hand for him to come with her. "What are you talking about?" he asked her  
  
"Draco, come on, is that anyway to treat your girlfriend?" At this Hermione felt a stab of jealousy but she pushed it down on the grounds that it was most likely a false statement. In fact Hermione didn't know why she was feeling jealous in the first place.  
  
"Pansy how many times do I have to tell you, you're not my girlfriend!" Draco exclaimed exasperated. "W-what are you saying Drakie?" she whimpered and when her face got all screwed up in her attempt at producing fake tears, she looked quite homely.  
  
"I'm saying that you have never, are not, and never will be my girlfriend" Draco knew it was harsh but it needed to be said. He was tired of her following him around like a puppy. Besides, he wanted to make sure Hermione knew he was single, although he didn't consciously know why. He kept telling himself that he felt nothing but friendship for her.  
  
Pansy just glared at Draco and Hermione in anger. "You! You big jerk! I practically throw myself at you and you say no!" she shrieked "What's wrong with you Draco? What has this idiot mudblood done?" she questioned him in annoyance  
  
"Don't call ~Hermione~ an idiot" He said slowly in a calm, but angry voice. Hermione smiled to herself still behind Draco. It was cute really, how he stood up for her. "It's her isn't it?" Pansy pointed to Hermione "You've been spending all your time with this mudblood, and now she's brainwashed you. You poor baby" she reached out to stroke his face but he shied away.  
  
"And now your smitten aren't you Draco? Aren't you? Everyone sees how you act around her, and you've never treated anyone so nice! Not even me!" Pansy yelled angrily  
  
"And I try and I try and I try and nothing ever seems to be good enough for you! You and that stupid little bookworm, well I've had enough!" With that Pansy lunged for Hermione and landed on her, starting to pull her hair and scratch at her. Hermione fought back just as much, losing herself in the anger she felt all welling up inside of her.  
  
For a moment Draco just stood by and watched, getting a little turned on by the event being placed in front of his eyes. He snapped out of it quick enough though and pulled them apart.  
  
"Draco? What are you doing?" Pansy asked him; shocked "I'm trying to help you by getting rid of that filth" she pointed to Hermione who was getting more and more pissed off as the day went by.  
  
"Shut up Pansy, you're just pissed off cause Draco doesn't want to be your boyfriend!" Hermione said back to her. This pissed Pansy off because she knew it was true, but she wasn't going to leave things like this "Are you going to let that mudblood talk to me that way?" Pansy asked Draco.  
  
He made no move to do anything and that's when Pansy burst "You! You bitch, you've stolen him from me!" she screamed at Hermione with all of her might. Then to Draco "You stupid fool! Loving a mudblood, what will your father think? You're disgracing your family's name!" And then she stalked off still angry.  
  
Draco made no move to correct her comment and his face was filling with a pink tint. Hermione supposed that this was the most Draco blushed. **Could he love me? No, that's insane, Draco could never love me, no that's just Pansy being her jealous Slytherin self, nothing more.** Hermione thought to herself.  
  
"Well, living with that has got to be annoying." Hermione commented. She just now realized that she still sat on the floor and Draco offered her a hand up. She gladly took it and smiled at him. "Why thank you" Neither of them spoke of what Pansy said about Draco being in love with Hermione, though it was still in the air.  
  
"Gods but this has been a tiring day!" Hermione said, and they continued walking with eachother, until they reached the grounds outside. They walked over by the lake and sat down on a soft patch of grass.  
  
"I love this" Hermione said propping herself up on her hand, to face Draco "Being outside like this, it's nice"  
  
"Yes it is" Draco agreed. He couldn't push a thought from his head. Something that Lucius said earlier. "I wonder what exactly it is that Voldemort wants with you?" Draco voiced what Hermione was thinking about at that very moment.  
  
"I don't know, I mean I'm just.." She trailed off "I'm just a mudblood, nothing special" she said in a low voice.  
  
"No, you are" Draco said, seeing her puzzled look, he continued "Something special" he smiled at her, but then his face darkened, as did most people's these days, when talking of such things, like Voldemort  
  
"But in all seriousness, Voldemort doesn't capture people often, its not likely that he wants you dead, or Lucius would have just done that and left no questions asked." Draco went on to say "No, something here is off, there's something about you Hermione, something Voldemort is interested in, and this" he finished, "is not good"  
  
"I know, but I wish I knew why he was after me" Hermione started "I hate not knowing things, especially things like this"  
  
Draco nodded and then "So, are you going to tell Potter?" he asked "Oh, Harry, I completely forgot! Of course I'll just have to!" she exclaimed, then jumped up, but Draco pulled her back "It can wait" he said, then laughed "Potter might be glad that he isn't the only one Old Voldie is after" he said in attempt to make Hermione laugh.  
  
It worked and she lay back down next to Draco giggling. They stayed that way for a while, chatting with each other and staring at the sky. All the time Draco couldn't help but sneak glances at Hermione, watching as she pointed to clouds, the way her hair was just so, how her face lit up when she spoke about something passionately. He was so drawn to her, and he didn't want to admit that he was falling for her, but he was, and he was falling hard.  
  
In the shadows, Hermione and Draco didn't notice that a certain red haired someone was watching them talk to each other. After they got up and went back to the castle, he too left. When they said their good-bye's Hermione walked towards Gryffindor Tower and Draco headed for the Dungeons.  
  
Ron Weasley followed Draco Malfoy, because at this moment he was on a mission. "Good, you made it," said an unknown, but female voice, when Ron walked into an empty Dungeon.  
  
"Yeah, I did" he agreed with a malicious grin "And I have loads to tell"  
  
A/N: Well that's it for this chapter, not too much a cliffie, but just enough to keep you wondering. So if you want more, please review! 


	17. Secrets

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, so please don't sue me  
  
Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now, on with the story  
  
Hermione Granger was currently walking in Hogsmeade with Draco Malfoy. She was on her way to Three Broomsticks for a drink and to meet Harry.  
  
"Draco, I have to attend to some." she didn't know if she should tell Draco that she was going to meet Sirius with Harry, but she decided not to and just said instead "some business with Harry, but we can hang out later if you would like?" Hermione asked Draco.  
  
He looked a bit downcast about that for some reason. Hermione thought she even noticed a bit of jealousy. She shrugged if off though and Draco just put on a forced smile and said "That will be fine Granger" **Why did he say Granger?**  
  
She just stared at him and then was pretty sure that he got the idea "Sorry" he said sheepishly, "I meant Hermione". Then they walked into Three Broomsticks and saw Harry wave them over.  
  
They walked over to him and sat down in a booth. "Hey Hermione!" he said then to Draco, "Malfoy"  
  
"Hi Harry!" Hermione greeted him, then Draco said "Potter" in his way of a greeting. Hermione just sighed at their antics and sat down, motioning for Draco to sit down as well.  
  
Harry called Madam Rosmerta over and they all ordered Butterbeers. They sat there in silence and a few moments later their butterbeers arrived. They each took a sip and reveled in the warmth that spread all through their bodies. They noticed that they only got a few unusual stares.  
  
People had only recently come to accept that Draco Malfoy, Slytherin King was associating himself with The-Boy-Who-Lived and Hermione Granger, mudblood witch.  
  
They chatted for a bit and then Harry announced that he and Hermione had better take off, or they'd be late. Draco wondered what exactly they were doing but didn't question it. **Why should they tell me anything, Hermione and I have only been friends for about a month and Potter and I have only been civil for about about two weeks**  
  
They said their good-byes and then planned to meet later at Honeydukes. With that in mind, Harry and Hermione set off towards the Shrieking Shack. Pansy Parkinson watched in the shadows as they walked away. She smiled and said to herself "Excellent, Draco is all by himself" And then she walked away to look for Draco.  
  
On the way to the Shrieking Shack, Harry and Hermione bumped into Ginny Weasely "Hi Hermione" then she blushed "Hi Harry" she said much quieter "Oh hey Ginny" Harry said distractedly. Hermione just waved and Harry looked at his watch "Sorry Ginny but 'Mione and I really have to be going or else we'll be late"  
  
"Oh, where are you going?" she asked them, curiously. They just sent glances at each other and Hermione said "Um, sorry Ginny but were not at liberty to talk about it" then they ran off to meet Sirius.  
  
Ginny just walked away disgruntled and muttering to herself under her breath about something, but the words "Harry" "Secrets" and "Stupid Git" could distinctly be heard.  
  
*~(^)~*~(^)~*~(^)~*  
  
Meanwhile, with Draco, he was wondering about Hermione and Harry and where exactly they were going, and what kind of business they had to attend to. Things were becoming so odd for him. Whenever he was around them, something was going on. It was like all of a sudden he was in their world. And it all happened so abruptly when one day, Hermione kissed him.  
  
He was so confused and that was something else that was new to him. Things were different when he was around Hermione and Potter. When he was with them, they wouldn't just do his bidding, and he wasn't in complete control of everything that went on around him.  
  
"Draaaaaakie" said Pansy in a sickly sweet voice. Draco cringed **Would she never get the hint that I don't like her?** He sighed and turned to face her "What do you want Parkinson?" Draco asked her  
  
"Oh nothing Draco, I just wanted to see how you were," she said, then "Are you feeling better? Have you come to your senses? I saw you out there with the mudblood-" Draco didn't let her continue. He grabbed her wrists and held them together, while pushing her up against the wall.  
  
"Have you been spying on me?" he hissed at her, severely pissed. She just looked at him, her eyes showing fear. Then he realized just how much like Lucius he was behaving. He immediately dropped her hands and backed away in shock "I-I'm s-sorry" his normally cool demeanor was slipping and Pansy just smiled, then left to report to her partner in crime.  
  
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Harry and Hermione were finally nearing the cave that they knew Sirius was at and they got a surprise when they found Professor Dumbledore there as well.  
  
They rushed inside to greet them both and pulled some food out of their robes to give them "We would have brought more if we'd had known you would be here too Professor" said Harry, but Dumbledore just waved it off like it was nothing.  
  
"Don't worry and please, were not in school right now, so you can call me Albus" he said to them with a smile. "Okay, Albus" said Hermione, trying it out. She smiled and then sat down on the floor, after a hug from Sirius, Harry sat down too.  
  
"So what brings you two here, and say where's Ron?" Sirius asked. This was the first time they had seen him in a while so there was a reason that he hadn't heard about Ron. Hermione looked sad and Harry's face darkened and his fists clinched together.  
  
"Ron, isn't nor will he ever be my friend again!" said Harry. Sirius and Albus both looked shocked "Now, Now, Harry, I'm sure you don't mean that" said Albus  
  
"I most certainly do" he countered. Hermione was nodding her head in agreement. "Well what brought this on?" asked Sirius curiously "From what I've heard, you two seemed like pretty good friends" he finished  
  
"We were" Harry said, "Until he decided to go insane and rape Hermione" he finished. Sirius and Albus just stared at him in shock. "Are you sure?" he asked Hermione, its not polyjuice or anything like that?" Hermione just shook her head. "No, it couldn't be, he said things to me, to a lot of people that only Ron Weasley could know" said Hermione  
  
Albus just looked sad "Well, this is most unfortunate" They all agreed "And that's not even the worst part" said Harry then continued "When we went to go tell Fudge, he refused to believe it, he went on about how Ron was an excellent student and would never do that. He even said that something like that would never happen while he was in charge without him knowing about it. Then he sent us away" he finished  
  
Sirius looked like he could kill and Albus looked furious. "Things are going horribly," said Harry "Fudge is a Death Eater too, did you know that?" Hermione asked them. They didn't seem too shocked but they shook their heads 'no'  
  
"How did you find that out?" asked Sirius "Draco Malfoy" said Hermione "We've been friends with him for a bit and even got into a fight with Ron after he heard about it" she finished "Yeah, they both ended up in the Infirmary" said Harry  
  
"Malfoy?" Dumbledore smiled at this, as if this didn't surprise him "Draco has never really been like his father, it's all for show, I happened to over hear a conversation between him and Severus once, I don't condone eavesdropping, but I always knew there was good in him"  
  
"Yeah, well a few weekends ago, he turned up to take Draco to Voldemort and he flat out refused to go. We helped him out but out numbering him with our wands and he left, and then last weekend he grabbed me and tried to take me away to Voldemort" she finished. Harry just nodded  
  
"Draco saved me from him, but that's not the odd part. Why did Voldemort want me in the first place?" Hermione wondered out loud  
  
"Yeah, we've been trying to figure it out for a while now. I mean what does Hermione have that Voldemort wants?" Harry asked them  
  
"Yeah that is pretty odd. He's against all muggleborns and muggles alike" said Sirius, who hadn't spoken much so far, as he had been eating the food that Harry and Hermione brought him.  
  
"Lucius said that Voldemort had taken an interest in me" she said "I really wonder what that means. There is obviously some kind of secret that I don't know" she sighed "And who knows if I'll ever figure it out"  
  
Dumbledore had kept quiet the entire time and watched them speak about what could possibly be going on  
  
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Draco Malfoy was wandering around when he saw the youngest Weasley sitting off by herself, looking downcast. He was about to approach her when her older brother, Ron Weasley, walked up to her.  
  
Just the name pissed Draco off and it took a lot of self-control to not just go over there and beat the living daylights out of Ron with his bare hands. He longed to curse and hex that bastard into oblivion.  
  
He watched as the two of them spoke to each other and then Ron said something that sounded like "Stupid Git". Ginny just patted him on his shoulder and said something but Draco couldn't tell what it was. Shortly after the two of them walked away and met up with.  
  
"Pansy?" he questioned aloud **Wonder what they're doing with each other? Something fishy is going on** He looked at his watch and figured he had a half an hour before he had to meet up with Hermione and Potter. Draco decided to follow them and see what they were up to.  
  
Quietly he kept to the shadows and followed after them only catching snippets of their conversation.  
  
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Dumbledore noticed that they had stopped talking at the same time and they were looking at him. He sighed and began to talk  
  
"Hermione, you've just had a birthday recently, correct me if I'm wrong?" he asked. Hermione just nodded her head and listened intently along with the rest of them.  
  
"I believe that I may know, some of the secrets you wish to find out."  
  
A/N: Well that's it! End of Chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try to get up another chapter as soon as possible. 


	18. Silly Girl! You Could Have Had Anything ...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
Thank you to all of my reviewers (  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now on with the story  
  
Everyone in the cave turned to look at Dumbledore. **He knows secrets about me?** Hermione thought to herself. Harry voiced exactly what Hermione was thinking.  
  
"You" he started "Know things, secrets, about Hermione?" he asked Dumbledore slowly. "Just like you know secrets about me?" Harry hinted.  
  
Dumbledore nodded his head "Indeed, I do"  
  
Sirius chose to speak up next "Albus, is it." he trailed off "What we were talking about earlier? Is she her?" Dumbledore nodded his head and then Sirius's eyes got real wide and he looked like he might reach out and hug Hermione at any moment, but he managed to restrain himself.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded, and her eyes were blazing with a fire to gain knowledge. She simply had to know the secret about herself.  
  
"Well, you see Ms. ~Granger~, you just happen to-" Dumbledore abruptly stopped speaking and when Harry spoke up for him to continue, he just shushed him "Shhh!" he said, "Do you hear that?" he asked them. They all strained their ears as if to listen for any sound at all. After a few moments, they all heard footsteps nearby. Whatever, whoever it was, they were coming to this cave.  
  
They all scrambled to hide and waited for whoever it was to enter the cave. Hopefully they wouldn't stay long.  
  
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Draco had been following the two Weasley's and Parkinson for a little while now. It was hard mind you, but they seemed stupid enough to not suspect that anyone would be following them.  
  
They looked like they were almost to their destination when Pansy stopped abruptly. Draco was forced to stop too. "Do you hear that?" she asked them, in a whisper. They both shook their heads 'no'.  
  
"It sounds like someone is following us," she continued. "Yeah" Ginny agreed "I've been getting a feeling that someone has been following us for a while now, but I thought I was just being paranoid" she admitted.  
  
Ron just looked at them both, a look of disbelief on his face. 'Women' could be heard under his breath in a sort of exasperated way. He pulled out his wand and checked around the area. Lucky for Draco he was good at hiding and had a skill in being quiet.  
  
Ron quickly returned to the ladies and shrugged. "I don't think anyone is following us," he said "Now, come on were almost there" he motioned for them to keep on walking and they hesitantly followed.  
  
"So where exactly are we going again, and if you don't mind my asking, why are we all of a sudden hanging around Slytherins?" Ginny asked Ron in the quietest voice she could. Since Draco could hear it and he was tailing from a bit of a distance, it wasn't too quiet after all.  
  
Pansy looked a little insulted but didn't say anything, she just scowled at Ginny, who quickly said "Not that I mind, I was just a bit curious." Pansy immediately warmed up to the girl and Ron piped up with "Because Gin, she can help us reach our goals" then he winked at Pansy.  
  
Draco was still listening to them and though **Just how daft could you get?**  
  
"So you never answered where we are going," Ginny reminded Ron, who didn't say anything right away but then "Somewhere where we can get some privacy"  
  
They were nearing the edge of the town of Hogsmeade and Draco noted that they were going into the mountainous area. **Why are they coming all the way out here?** he thought to himself. He continued following them anyhow until they reached a cave.  
  
Draco hid himself behind a rock and continued to listen to their conversation.  
  
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"Who do you suppose is coming?" Sirius asked them, with a curious expression. Dumbledore was wondering the same thing.  
  
"I don't know, no one ever really comes up here," said Hermione. "Yeah" Harry agreed "In fact, I didn't think anyone even knew about it except for me, Hermione and.." He trailed off, and everyone said "Ron" in unison.  
  
"But why would he be up here all by himself, unless he was coming to visit you or something" Hermione asked and gestured to Sirius. "That's doubtful," said Dumbledore "Perhaps he's come to turn Sirius in" he finished  
  
Harry looked positively frightened by that fact and Sirius's face turned a blank shade of white. "Don't worry, Sirius can always escape" reassured Dumbldore.  
  
Just then the footsteps got really close and Pansy Parkinson along with Ron and Ginny Weasley entered the cave. "Ewww Ron, its way gross up here!" shrieked Pansy. Ginny pointed to the bones on the ground and said "Yeah, it looks like someone has been living here, or used to live here"  
  
Ron's face changed then into a forlorn smile as he remembered the times he had shared with Sirius, Harry and Hermione in this cave. The smile vanished though and he just told them to sit down.  
  
"Now, that we have a bit of privacy, we can talk freely about our ~goals~" then he snickered. Pansy laughed right along with him and Ginny looked uncomfortable.  
  
"So why exactly did you drag me into the mountains to sit in a cave?" asked Ginny "What does that have to do with my crush?"  
  
Harry still sitting in the back with the rest of them whispered, "Ginny has a crush?" They all just sent him a look that said 'shut up!' He looked sheepish but didn't say anything; they continued to listen to the intruders talk.  
  
"Because Ginny dear" said Pansy in a sickeningly sweet voice "If you want a guy, you need to have money, power and good looks." Ron just nodded and Pansy continued "And you my dear, have none of those things." Ginny looked like she might cry but asked "And how would I get those things?"  
  
In the back Hermione whispered more to herself than anyone else "Don't listen to her!" Harry nodded, but didn't speak. They listened to them again.  
  
"Why all you have to do is join us!" Pansy said in a would be inviting voice, if she didn't cackle afterward and if she wasn't wearing that nasty look on her face.  
  
"Join you?" Ginny asked, and then got up, and brushed herself off "I don't think I want to have anything to do with what your insinuating. Besides wouldn't he like me less if I did?" she said in a low voice  
  
"Maybe at first, but after he came to his senses, he'd be all over a girl like you, we can give you that kind of Power" Ginny looked like she was considering it and then she shook her head "No! I can't do that to Harry! I would never join you! I can't believe you are either Ron, but since I love you I'm not going to tell anyone. You either Pansy" They just looked at her for a minute  
  
In the back Harry just looked Dumb founded and mouthed "I'm her crush?" to Hermione. She just nodded back and noticed that a faint pink blush started appearing on his cheeks.  
  
"Silly girl! You could have had anything you wanted! And I'm afraid that we can't afford to let you slip about our little secret, Ron would you like to do the honors?" Pansy asked him  
  
"Why sure Pansy" then he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ginny "Ron, W-what are you doing?" she asked him, backing away. "Sorry, Gin, but this has to be done" and before anyone could react he pulled out his wand and yelled "Obliviate!" the spell just missed Ginny but it looked like it hit.  
  
Seeing this as her chance for an out, she wiped her face of any expression and asked "Ron, what are we doing here?"  
  
"Nothing Gin, we were just leaving" and he was just about to leave the cave when Harry accidentally knocked a rock with his hand. They all turned around and looked right where they were hiding.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Ron asked them. 


	19. Just Go With The Direct Approach

Disclaimer: I don't any of this  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now on with the story  
  
In the back of the cave, each person's heart was pounding like a caged animal trying desperately to relieve itself from the prison that it lives in. Ron took another step towards them and strained his ears in an attempt to hear any more noises.  
  
Those who were hiding drew in an unnecessary breath and watched him come closer still. Any moment now and they would be discovered. There was nothing that any one of them could do to prevent it from happening. Each of them silently tried to will themselves invisible. One more step and..  
  
"Ron, come on, you're being silly. Nothing is over there." Hissed Pansy  
  
Ginny wrapped her arms around herself and silently cursed at her own stupidity for not bringing a cloak out in this weather. Ron turned around and looked at them. "Are you sure that you didn't hear anything?" he asked them and continued with " 'Cause I'm pretty sure that-" Pansy cut him off with "Yes, werre sure, now come on! You're being paranoid!" she exclaimed. Ginny nodded her head fervently.  
  
"No worse that you two thinking someone was following us. " he sneered. It was so unbecoming on him and it hurt those in the back of the cave to see the once, ever so full of life boy, so full of hatred and anger.  
  
"Whatever, Ron, can we just go now? Fudge will get angry if we're late and it's getting to be about that time." Ginny said hesitantly, not wanting to anger her brother. He simply nodded distractedly and the three of them walked out of the cave into the chilly December air.  
  
For some odd reason, it hadn't began to snow yet, but people like Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, just hadn't seemed to notice or care.  
  
Those in the back of the cave sighed in relief and slowly moved out of their hiding places. They all stood up and brushed them selves off and just as Hermione was about to open her mouth to speak, Dumbledore said "You two had better head back to the castle."  
  
"But-" she tried to plead but Dumbledore would have none of it. "Now, now, Ms. Granger, I don't want you two getting in trouble. We'll be in touch" he was firm, but Hermione was just too curious for her own good.  
  
"But what about-" she started to ask, but was yet again cut off. "Your secret?" asked Dumbledore, knowingly. "Yes, I know you must be curious, but this isn't the time or the place to get into that. All will be explained in time," the tone of his voice meant business and Hermione reluctantly nodded her head and made no more attempts at questioning.  
  
Oddly, Harry had kept quiet the entire time and just kind of stared off into space. "Harry!" Sirius yelled, and shook him a bit. Snapping out of it, he began to blush and muttered "Sorry," sheepishly "guess I spaced out for a second there." The other three people present nodded.  
  
"Well, we'd better be going then," said Hermione to Harry, who nodded. They said their goodbyes and then left the cave.  
  
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Draco Malfoy had been listening to Pansy, and the Weasley's talk for about 30 minutes and from what he understood, Pansy and Ron were working for Voldemort as Death Eaters. This came as a shock to him, because he wasn't aware that they were recruiting at only 16 and because although he had his suspicions about Ronald Weasley, he couldn't quite grasp the fact that a member of the Dream Team would join the ranks.  
  
After they'd gone into the cave, Draco had been slowly moving towards the entrance for better hearing. He heard them ask Ginny to join and he heard her refuse. Then, he heard them take her memory. He listened as they argued about something and then when he heard them getting closer to where he was standing at the entrance, he ran as fast as he could to his hiding spot behind the rock.  
  
Draco watched them walk by and was just about to follow, when who should step out of the cave after them, but Hermione and Potter. They hadn't seemed to notice Draco yet, but he stepped out so that he was in plain view. Draco felt anger rising up inside him fast and his fists were clenching. "What were ~you two~ doing in ~there~ with Parkinson and the Weasels?" he hissed at them.  
  
They stared speechless at Draco for a moment until Hermione came to her senses. Right on time too, because Draco was just about to walk away. "Wait!" she shrieked and grabbed his arm.  
  
He spun around to face her and "What?" he spat with venom. He looked betrayed.  
  
"Harry and I had to meet someone there" then she paused and said "Mr. Padfoot. Ron, Harry and I used to visit him all the time. We thought he might be useful in figuring out what was going on so that's why we were there," she explained  
  
Draco had calmed down a bit, but he still felt mad "and why were those three" he gestured to the retreating trio in the distance "in the cave too?" he finished  
  
They stated silent for a moment but then Harry spoke up "He wanted privacy. I don't see why we have to explain ourselves to you anyway" he complained angrily "Its not your business!"  
  
Hermione didn't know what to say either **It is rather off that Draco is all of a sudden helping us out like he is. I wonder if he's up to something**  
  
"Because Potter, It is my business!" Draco yelled at him "whether you like it or not. Hell, whether ~I~ like it or not, I'm involved with this now"  
  
"You may not be a Death Eater, but your still Draco Malfoy. Why after 5 years of torment, help us now?" Harry asked the very question Hermione had been wondering for a while now. Harry had different reasons though; he was trying to get Draco to admit his feelings for Hermione.  
  
To be perfectly honest, Draco Malfoy didn't know why he felt so compelled to help them out, but he did know that it had something to do with Hermione Granger.  
  
"Stop it! Both of you! Harry you just knock it off, and Draco quit with the third degree. Draco is right, he's involved in this, but Harry so are you, so no more fighting for now!" she scolded them and they both looked properly ashamed.  
  
She began walking back to the castle as it was getting late and Hermione didn't want any unnecessary trouble to mar her record. Harry and Draco stared at each other for a moment and then followed her.  
  
"Now" she said brighter than before "Dumbledore was in the cave as well" she was cut off by Draco who asked "Dumbledore, really?" he received a glare from Hermione and wisely shut up.  
  
"Yes, Draco, really. Anyway, we told him and Mr. Padfoot about everything that's happened. Even your saving of me" she said, then smiled at Draco "he seemed unsurprised and had complete faith in you"  
  
It was Harry's turn to get into the conversation again "He knows things. Dumbledore knows secrets about all of us. He knows her secrets" he gestured to Hermione, then went silent.  
  
Draco couldn't take it anymore "well" he said, expectantly.  
  
Harry just stared at him, a puzzled expression donning his features. "Bloody Gryffindorks" Draco mumbled under his breath, then "well, what's her secret!?" by now he was yelling, as he couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"I don't know. Ron, Ginny and Pansy came in before he could tell us and by the time they left, we had to leave as well or we'd be late getting back," Hermione explained to him.  
  
"I have a feeling that things are going to keep happening to prevent us from getting that information" said Draco  
  
"Why do you say that?" asked Harry. Draco replied with "I don't know. I just have a feeling. Some one doesn't want us to know." They walked in silence after that and Draco noticed that Hermione was shivering. Being the gentlemen that he was, he pulled of his own cloak and wrapped it around her.  
  
She stopped shivering and then turned to face him. It was getting late and the sun was going down. He looked quite handsome to Hermione right then and she slyly moved herself closer to him as they were walking. Instinctively, Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulder and his gaze lingered on her long enough to see the smile that was set on her face.  
  
Potter hadn't missed the exchange and sped up to give them some alone time. Draco felt that this was the perfect time to tell Hermione how he felt about her. Unfortunately all he got out was "Hermione-" because she cut him off with "Oh Draco look!" pointing towards the sky.  
  
Upon closer inspection, that and a few snowflakes landing on his head, Draco realized that it was snowing. "The first snow of the season" he said, softly. Then he faced her. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked him. "It sure is." he answered and she looked over to find him staring directly at her. "What is it?" she asked and started touching her face. "Have I got something on my face?"  
  
Draco chuckled a little bit, but said "No" then he continued to say, "I was just answering your question. It most certainly is beautiful"  
  
Hermione felt a blush rise in her cheeks and she turned away so that Draco wouldn't see. Just then the wind picked up a bit and Hermione leaned into Draco. Her head was right on his shoulder and he couldn't help but inhale the smell of her hair. He wasn't too obvious, but the smell was intoxicating.  
  
"We'd better hurry up and get back, our curfew is in 35 minutes," Hermione said breaking the silence after glancing at her watch.  
  
"Draco?" she asked him "What did you want before?" only just remembering that he'd said her name, only seconds before she noticed the snow. Draco shrugged his shoulders and just said "Nothing important"  
  
Hermione however wasn't satisfied and kept asking. Finally it seemed that he had given in "All right, all right" he said, "I'll tell you"  
  
Hermione squealed with glee, which was very un-Hermione-like but waited patiently for Draco to continue. "I was going to ask for your advice" he lied  
  
"Advice on what?" she asked, curiously. "Well, you see, there's this girl I have a thing for" as soon as the words left his mouth, Hermione's cheerful expression vanished and Draco noticed, but made no action that would indicate that he had.  
  
"Oh," she said, then continued with "I see"  
  
"Anyway, I don't know if she's interested in me, and I don't know how to go about telling her" Draco said, then asked "Any suggestions?"  
  
She seemed upset by what she'd just heard, but came up with an answer anyhow. "Well, if it were me, I'd go with the direct approach. Just tell this girl, whomever she is how you feel," she said this a bit bitterly.  
  
He stared at her for a moment then asked "You sure?" and she replied with "positive" then turned away so he wouldn't see her forming tears. **Stop getting so worked up Hermione! You knew all along he didn't like you**  
  
Before she could stop herself, curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "So, who is this girl, that you have a thing for?" He didn't answer right away and Hermione was positive that she heard him say under his breath "Your about to find out"  
  
Then all of a sudden, Draco stopped. She of course stopped too. "Hermione" he said gently and then took his hand and placed it upon her chin, making her face him. He noticed that tears were running down her cheeks "Y-yes?" she asked him shakily  
  
"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked her. She just nodded her head. So Draco did the only thing he could do. He did something he'd been longing to do for a while now. Something that was rash and spontaneous. He did something absolutely perfect. He kissed her.  
  
A/N: THAT'S IT! Anyways, if you want more, REVIEW!!!! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	20. Until We Meet Again

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now, on with the story  
  
Draco and Hermione were lost in the kiss. This kiss was different than any other one that they had shared. For them, in this moment, this kiss was special. It meant more than just revenge and lust. This kiss was filled with real passion and longing. Too soon for both of them it was over when Hermione violently pushed Draco away.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, staring at him. Before he could answer her she kept on talking "I mean here you are telling me about some girl you like, and then you kiss me!" she started crying now "And, I don't want to be just some snog! I-I you stay away from me!" and she turned to run away, but Draco was quicker and grabbed her arm before she could get away.  
  
"Let me go! Draco, please, I just want to go" she pleaded with him, but he wouldn't listen "No, just let me explain-" he tried to get her to understand, but she kept saying no.  
  
"Hermione! Just listen for a minute so I can tell you why I kissed you!" Draco practically begged her, but Hermione was pissed off now and just replied with "Do you think I'm stupid? We're two hormonal teenagers in the" she gazed around her "night, and were alone, you were just being a typical guy" she spat  
  
Draco had had enough and he finally just shouted "Shut up you stupid mudblood!" she looked taken aback at that and remained silent "I thought that, I just, I thought that-" she tried to say but Draco had enough.  
  
"No, Hermione! You're going to listen to me now! I've listened to you tell me how inconsiderate I've been to you and the girl I have a thing for" he laughed bitterly at that and she stared at him wide eyes. **Is Draco cracking up?** she thought to herself but pushed the thought down and then listened to him.  
  
"Its all your fault you know" he said to her, and she had to admit that she had no idea what he was talking about "Making me behave this way. Cant get you out of my bloody head!" he continued almost paying no attention to her, as she took a seat on a nearby rock. Draco paced back and forth and several times he stopped to stare at her, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but each time, he stopped and continued pacing.  
  
If Hermione weren't feeling so upset at that moment, she would have found it amusing to see The Great Draco Malfoy falling apart over something; she had no idea about.  
  
"Don't you see?" he asked her as he came up and grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned in to kiss her again. She let him and she didn't know why. Much too soon he pulled back and she found herself wanting more.  
  
"Draco, I don't know what's going on here, but its not funny" Hermione said "I thought our agreement was over-" she was cut off by his harsh laugh and he just laughed and laughed and laughed and Hermione found herself getting angry at him  
  
"Will you stop your laughing! This isn't funny!" she exclaimed and stared at him indignantly. He stopped laughing and just stared at her. "You really don't get it?" he asked her and she shook her head 'no'  
  
He just shook his head, in amusement. "Its right in front of your eyes, and you still can't see it!" he said to her and then laughed again. She couldn't take it anymore, so she just burst into tears "Draco Malfoy I hate you!" she screamed and made a move to run away but he yelled "wait!" she reluctantly turned back around.  
  
He made a motion for her to sit back down and for some odd reason she complied. "I hope you're having fun" she spat at him. **Boy she is blind and stubborn too**  
  
Draco waited a moment before he spoke again, "I was just taking your advice you know," he said to her softly. This just seemed to anger her more "No, you didn't, I told you to go for the direct approach, not to go snog some-" she was cut off by Draco yet again.  
  
"Don't you get it Hermione. I did follow your advice! Boy, for the smartest witch in this whole bloody school you sure are damn blind. You can't see what's right in front of your eyes! Potter sees it. Pansy sees it. Everyone sees it but you!" he yelled at her, and it took a moment for her to work it out but then it all made perfect sense.  
  
The way he was so protective of her, how Harry always gave Draco odd glances when he thought she wasn't looking.  
  
She had a flash back to about a week ago  
  
"And now your smitten aren't you Draco? Aren't you? Everyone sees how you act around her, and you've never treated anyone so nice! Not even me!" Pansy yelled angrily  
  
Hermione had dismissed it at the time, believing it to be false, but everything was falling into place. How when each time they kissed, his was filled with longing, that at the time, she thought to be lust.  
  
The way that he was so gentle with her, and then a moment ago, when he ~did~ take her advice and kissed her. That kiss had meant so much to her. She knew they weren't in love, but there was a strong feeling between them.  
  
Draco heard her gasp and then look up at him. Understanding filled her eyes, and before she could speak he said "That's right Hermione! I'm bloody falling for you. Can't get you out of my thoughts. Every time I sleep, I see your bloody face. When I wake up you're the first person I think of, and I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do!"  
  
Slowly a smile grew on her face, and she started to laugh. This time it was Draco's turn to get angry "You think its funny do you?" he asked her, his eyes flashing with anger. She stopped abruptly, but couldn't help starting up again "Its just, look at us, sitting out here in the dark, arguing about this like little kids! And the expressions on your face, were just priceless" she said, her voice filled with laughter. "It is nice to know that I can make Draco Malfoy, Mr. I'm-Always-Cool, fall to pieces." She said with a grin, and he snorted "Don't tell a soul or I'll be forced to kill you"  
  
Draco was fairly sure that she felt the same way about him, but she hadn't said anything that would indicate that she did. He looked up at her, for he was now on the ground in front of her and his eyes asked the question for her. She just smiled at him a bit of sadness too.  
  
"I, I don't know what I feel for you exactly Draco" Hermione started. **Okay not ~exactly~ the answer I was looking for**  
  
"But, I feel something, and It is fairly strong" she continued. "I don't want a relationship right now though" she finished.  
  
Draco looked puzzled, and she stayed silent, just staring at him for a moment. "I c-cant have one. I just, every time we'd get together I'd get memories. My last two relationships ended the same, Draco." She said, and the thing that surprised her the most, was how Draco looked positively fine about it all. He jumped up off the ground and his face started glowing with excitement.  
  
Draco remembered how Hermione had told him that she'd been raped twice, and things started clicking into place.  
  
"Well, I certainly didn't expect for you to be this happy about it, but-" Draco cut her off, for about the billionth time that night "No! Hermione don't you see! Your last two relationships ended the same! Isn't it great?" he started to laugh again, and now Hermione really did begin to think he was going mad  
  
"It wasn't great for me" she said softly, eyes watering again. It seemed that Draco had just realized what he had said and got back down on the ground and held her hands in his. "No, Hermione that's not what I meant, Its just that I've just realized something. Come on we can't talk about this here" she looked at him curiously, but got up and followed him up to the castle. She was still shivering from the snow, and Draco looked really cold too now that they weren't preoccupied with other things.  
  
"Draco, here" she said, taking off the cloak "You're freezing. I cant take this from you" she offered it to him, but he just turned it down. Hermione wouldn't give up though, and kept offering it to him.  
  
"Just put it on Hermione! I'm fine, I swear!" Draco tried to make her understand. Even though he was quite cold, she should have it. "No, you're positively frozen. With that, she wrapped the cloak around him and wrapped her arms around herself, in an attempt to get warm, which didn't work.  
  
"Hermione, come over here" said Draco, and Hermione listened to him, walking over to him. He wrapped the cloak around himself and her and wrapped his arm around her then they walked back to the castle together.  
  
Even though it was freezing outside and even though Hermione was questioning Draco's sanity, she was busy basking in the comfort that being in his arms gave her. They stayed silent on the way back, but it was a comfortable silence.  
  
When the reached the main doors of Hogwarts, they tried to push them open, but found that the doors were locked. "Damn" Draco swore under his breath, and Hermione was too worried about their situation to get on his case about swearing.  
  
"What are we going to do?" she asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders. The sat on the steps for a few moments and Hermione just kept wishing that Harry would come. She wasn't sure why she was thinking this, but she called out to him with her mind, in a last resort to get back inside.  
  
Nothing happened for a few moments, but then to both of their surprise, the main door opened, and who should stand there, but Harry Potter. He had a confused expression written all over his face.  
  
Draco and Hermione quickly rushed inside, and Harry couldn't help ask Hermione "Did you call me 'Mione?"  
  
Draco just looked at him, disbelief plastered on his face "Potter you don't honestly think that even if Hermione called to you, you'd be able to hear her, honestly-" he was cut off by Hermione, who looked quite shocked.  
  
"I did," she said in a low voice, but the both heard her, and Harry motioned for her to go on. "I don't know why, but for some reason, I had this urge to try and call you with my mind. Its happened before, but I just thought it was a coincidence" she explained to them, but then fell silent.  
  
"I've heard your calls before, but this is the first time it's happened this year, and it seems different than before" Harry said  
  
"I know! I just felt like If I called you, you would come, and I don't even know why I did it" Hermione said and then stared at Draco to see what he had to say about this.  
  
"I've read something about this before. It has to do with some kind of blood ritual. I read it once in a library, while I was visiting relatives in France." Draco said to them. He had a thoughtful look on his face and they weren't sure what to make of it.  
  
Then it all clicked in Hermione's head at once. "I bet that this has something to do with my big secret," said Hermione  
  
Draco nodded in agreement "Sirius must know about it, because did you see the way he looked at you, when Dumbledore said that you were the girl. It was like he wanted to reach out and hug you" Harry said  
  
Hermione nodded her head "Yes! Some how, this is all connected. Voldemort taking interest in me. Sirius's behavior. The mind link. I wish I knew more information." Hermione sighed in frustration. Things were getting more and more complicated.  
  
"Things are getting more complicated" said Draco "We're going to figure this out" he said. They both nodded. Then Hermione remembered something.  
  
"Draco, you said you realized something, after I mentioned how my last two relationships and how they ended. Does it have anything to do with this?" she asked him and Harry turned his gaze to land on Draco.  
  
"Yes, it does, but I don't see how it all fits together" he muttered to himself  
  
"Listen" he continued "We can't discuss this anymore right here. We'll meet here again tomorrow, at 11 AM, agreed?" Although both Harry and Hermione were curious about the information Draco had to share with them, they knew he was right. They couldn't talk about this right now. "Alright" said Hermione, then smiled at him "Agreed" said Harry who just sent an acknowledging glance at Draco before walking off with Hermione.  
  
As Draco stood there, alone for a moment he mumbled softly "Until we meet again" then walked away to the Slytherin common rooms.  
  
A/N: well not too much of a cliffhanger. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! Whoo hooo make the author happy! 


	21. Sometimes, War Is About Sacrafices

Disclaimer: I don't own much, just the plot  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers, they are much appreciated  
  
Now on with the story  
  
The next morning found Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter meeting at the Entrance Hall to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Hermione and Harry were both very anxious to know what Draco had to tell them, for it was another piece of the puzzle to the mystery surrounding Hermione.  
  
They walked over to a secluded spot by the lake with a nice big tree right by it. They all sat down and were silent for a couple minutes. No one knew how to exactly start the conversation that was about to take place.  
  
Finally, Hermione spoke up "Well, we might as well get on with this" then gestured to Draco to take it from there. He took the hint and began to speak. "Yes, well, last night, Hermione and I, were having a chat, about some," he paused for a moment "uh, stuff." Both Draco and Hermione blushed at that and Harry just shook his head in amusement.  
  
"Anyway, I mentioned something about my last two relationships ending badly, and Draco seemed to think it was great that I said that" Hermione said, looking slightly put off, that maybe Draco had caught something she had missed.  
  
"Well, Hermione, your last two relationships ended in rape." Draco said bluntly "And it got me thinking, how often does that happen?" he asked them and they shook their heads not knowing an answer. "Well, it doesn't happen that often, and having lived the life I have, one doesn't really believe in coincidences" he finished  
  
They were nodded their heads in agreement, waiting for him to continue, which he did, thankfully. "Now, I know judging a person isn't exactly something that's a great thing to do." He felt a bit ashamed here, for it was something he used to do, but shrugged it off quickly and went on to say, "You dated Viktor Krum and he raped you Hermione. He was close to Karkaroff, who was a Death Eater, and he goes to Durmstrang, a school know for its Dark Arts." He didn't stop there though.  
  
"The way things have been for a while now, I don't think we should be that forth coming with the benefit of the doubt."  
  
Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in approval, though they didn't have any idea where this was going. "And then Ron, Mr. I'm shadowed by all, rapes you" he stopped talking for a moment and looked thoughtful.  
  
"I don't think its that easy to make the connection, cause Viktor and Ron have nothing in common, and if we hadn't heard their conversation the other day I wouldn't have either." Draco said.  
  
By now, Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to figure out what Draco was saying. For some reason, it just wouldn't click in their heads.  
  
"Anyway, Ron is a Death Eater, Viktor is a Death Eater, they both rape you. We find out that Voldemort wants you. Why would two Death Eaters both rape you? Why under Voldemort's orders of course. Sometimes he has Death Eaters do that to muggles and mudbloods, but they are usually in costume. From what you described to me, it sounded like they tried to have sex with out objections from you and in both cases you refused. That is why you were raped." He finished.  
  
Hermione's eyes widened in realization and she said "Oh my God! He wants me to have a child!" she exclaimed. Harry just looked confused "But why on earth would he want that. I mean it can't be to get a heir, because Voldemort would have to do that himself, so the Slytherin blood was there." he finished.  
  
"That's exactly where I'm stuck!" Draco exclaimed in frustration. "Your not pregnant are you Hermione?" asked Harry "Of course not! I did a spell to check after wards."  
  
Draco sighed in relief. "That's good, because whatever his reasons for wanting a child that you bear, it can't be good."  
  
They nodded in agreement. "This is killing me!" shouted Hermione "I can't take this, we have information, just not enough! I know all of this seemingly odd information, connects, I just know it does" she stood up and started pacing around. "Don't worry, Mione, we'll figure it out" said Harry reassuringly.  
  
Draco and Harry both stood up too, and started walking back to the castle. When they reached the doors, Hermione threw them open and stalked through them. Anyone around could tell that something was bothering her. Only 2 people knew what it was though.  
  
They stopped in a deserted hallway and continued talking again. "What are we going to do about Ginny?" asked Harry. Hermione replied with "Well, she likes you Harry, and I think right now, that's the only thing keeping her on the light side. You heard what Ron and Pansy said to her in the cave, yesterday, and then how she responded"  
  
"Well, I don't think I feel that way about her" said Harry "So there is nothing I can do, unless." he trailed off and motioned for them to lean in and he whispered his idea to them. When Draco and Hermione pulled back, Draco had a big grin on his face "Who would have thought, Famous Harry Potter, has a bit of Slytherin in him after all."  
  
"Well, actually, that's where the sorting hat wanted to put me, but I told it no" he said sheepishly. This was the first time he'd told anyone but Dumbledore about that. Draco looked shocked "Gryffindor Golden Boy, was almost a Slytherin?" he asked in complete shock.  
  
Hermione didn't look surprised at all. "Well, you can speak parseltongue, so actually Harry, you do have ~some~ Slytherin in you" she said knowledgeably.  
  
"Anyway, I don't know about that plan, Harry. It seems a bit well, devious" Hermione stated, worried "It is, but its all we have right now" said Harry, then continued with" and besides, I haven't got my eye on anyone right now, so I might as well give it a go." One could tell by the tone of his voice that Harry hadn't meant what he'd said, but was putting up his 'I'm-A-Brave- Little-Soldier' Routine.  
  
"I don't like it, but you're right, it's the only plan we've got" Hermione gave in.  
  
"Well, I've got Quidditch Practice, so I'll see you guys later," said Harry and then he left to go get his Quidditch gear. This left Hermione and Draco all alone once again. "Listen Hermione, about last night. I just want to let you know, that I'm willing to wait for you" he gave her a rare smile.  
  
Hermione smiled right back and then said "Thank you Draco, we could you know, if you want to, maybe go to the ball together, as in, you'd be my date" Hermione asked him.  
  
"I'd love to accompany you to the ball, milady" he offered her his arm, which she took and then they walked away to the library to do research to find anything they could about blood rituals and mind links.  
  
Little did they know that behind the corner of the hall, someone was listening in on their conversation. Eavesdropping if you will. It just turned out to be Pansy Parkinson. She looked downright pissed off, but at the same time, happy to have acquired this new information. She walked away muttering to herself, and went to meet Ron.  
  
*~(^)~*~(^)~*~(^)~*  
  
It was dinnertime, and it was time for Harry to put forth his plan to keep Ginny on the side of the light. He walked into the Great Hall with Draco and Hermione and went to go find a seat. Hermione said goodbye to Draco as he went to the Slytherin table, and spotted Ginny. She ran over to Harry, and together they walked over to where Ginny was sitting. Hermione sat on one side of her and Harry was on the other.  
  
"Hey Hermione" said Ginny brightly and then turned to Harry and blushed a little bit "Hi Harry".  
  
"Hey Ginny" said Hermione and then turned to talk to some of the other Gryffindors, but made sure to keep her eye on Harry and Ginny. Harry turned to Ginny and said "Hey Gin. How are you this evening?"  
  
"I-I'm doing just fine. You?" she asked him right back "I'm doing great" he replied and felt a little bit bad for leading her on this way, but what had to be done, had to be done. "Listen, Gin" he said to her "I actually came over to sit by you with an ulterior motive" She looked a little saddened by this, and just said "Oh" then turned away "What did you want?"  
  
"I wanted to know if you'd go to the Christmas Ball with me" he stated, and she turned to look at him, with his face full of shock. "R-really? T-that's what you wanted to know?" she asked him, her face turning up into a smile. He nodded and she replied with "Yes, of course! I'd love to go with you!" Then she bounced away, happily.  
  
"I feel so guilty," said Harry to Hermione, who moved over after Ginny left "Yeah, but, it needs to be done" she concluded. "Besides Harry, it's just going to the ball. You might even end up liking her" she patted him on the back and "And its not like you confessed your love to her" Hermione reasoned with him, and after a bit, Harry agreed with her. The plan had been his own, but carrying it out, was harder than he thought.  
  
"Don't worry, Harry, things will turn out for the best, but he have to take desperate measures sometimes. I know it may be painful and people get hurt. But we're in the middle of a war. Sure, it's not a public official war. But, Harry, more than half the Wizarding world knows that it's going on. Attacks are happening everyday. This is the war between light and dark. There may be some grey in there, but it ~is~ war. Sometimes war is about sacrifices. I know that sometimes our choices about things aren't always the best. And innocent people, like Ginny get hurt, but that's what it's about. War is about pain. Hopefully, we can get a happy ending" Hermione said and afterward, Harry felt better. Hermione was right, as usual.  
  
They finished up their dinner and then they walked off. Hermione went to meet up with Draco, and Harry went to attempt a conversation with Ginny.  
  
*~(^)~*~(^)~*~(^)~*  
  
In the library, Hermione and Draco were still looking in any books they could find, for Blood Rituals, but they hadn't been lucky enough as of yet. Draco slammed a book closed.  
  
"This is useless!" he said aloud and waited for Hermione to tell him off for being a lazy bum, but it never came. She too just shut her book, and sighed in exhaustion. "You're right. This is going nowhere" she agreed.  
  
Draco moved over to sit next to her. She turned to face him, and gave him a little half smile, then said "It never really ends," he looked at her "does it?" she finished.  
  
She wasn't helpful in the details department, but he knew what she was talking about "No, I don't suppose it does. You'll always have your big bad Voldemorts and you'll always have your hero types, like Potter." He stated, then went on to say "It's the fight between good and evil, my dear. It will go on forever. Sometimes, good will prevail, and sometimes, evil will come out victorious." She was staring at him with an intense gaze, like she was trying to absorb everything about him, right then and there.  
  
"What if this is one of those times, when evil prevails?" she asked him and he didn't know what to say, because it was a possibility. "I don't know, Hermione She leaned into his chest and he wrapped an arm around her, in an attempt to protect her from the harsh reality of the world "I just don't know" he sighed and then pulled Hermione up with him. "Come on, we should head back." He said, and she nodded.  
  
They both began to pick up all the books they were looking through and put them in their bags. They were just about to leave when Hermione noticed one of the books was lying on the floor. She stopped Draco and went to go pick it up. For some reason, she felt that she had to open the book. Draco looked on, curiously, as she opened the book to a would-be random page and showed it to Draco.  
  
"Hermione, whats this all about?" he asked her, not being able to keep the curiosity out of his voice "I don't know" she replied "Something, I don't know what, made me open that book. I felt like I just had to open it to that page." She tried to explain. Draco seemed to understand, either that or he thought she was insane.  
  
He took a look at the page she was reading and read aloud  
  
"Blood Rituals are in most cases a form of Dark Magic, and are used in a wide variety of spells, and potions. In some cases, the blood must be given willingly, or it can be taken forcibly. The blood can even be used after a person's death, if the death meets certain circumstances. Although, a person's blood can be used by almost any one who can get their hands on it, if the person takes their own blood or dies by their own hand, the blood is worthless."  
  
"Hermione, why did you turn to this page?" Draco asked shakily, which for Draco, was something out of the ordinary. Hermione shook her head. "I really don't know, something drew me to that page, and I can't say why."  
  
"Perhaps we should keep this book, and look into it more later" Draco said and Hermione nodded her head very fast, to show her complete agreement.  
  
They grabbed the book and then left the library just as Madam Pince was extinguishing the torches and locking the doors. Draco watched as Hermione walked away to Gryffindor Tower, and was just about to turn and walk his separate way, when Hermione came running back.  
  
"Wha-" he was cut off by her lips on his. "Goodnight Draco" she said to him and then ran off.  
  
He put his finger to his lips and smiled. **That girl is full of surprises** he thought to himself. **There is something odd going on around here. Why would she impulsively turn to that page? I hope we don't end up needing that information anytime soon.** he walked back to the Slytherin Dormitories, lost in thought.  
  
A/N: Well there ya go! I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	22. Here Comes Harry Potter, Savior Of The W...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, so yeah, don't sue  
  
Thank you so very much to all my reviewers. Even though I haven't listed all of your names, they are much appreciated.  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
Now, on with the fic!  
  
It was the evening of the Christmas Ball, well actually the Ball was over, but three students were lingering around, looking downcast. They just so happened to be Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Harry had his head in his hands and was looking particularly pathetic.  
  
Hermione looked totally disbelieving and all around upset. Draco Malfoy had an arm around her shoulders and was attempting to comfort her, but it was no use. "Ginny, you poor girl" she said out loud in a voice that was a little above a whisper.  
  
Draco was the only one whose expression was unreadable. He had some inner turmoil going on though. Right now, he was the sensible one in the group so he asked them to tell exactly what happened, to find out what caused the events that had passed earlier.  
  
"Well, Ginny was really excited about the Ball so she asked me if I wanted to get ready with her" said Hermione  
  
*^*FLASHBACK*^*  
  
"Hermione!" squealed Ginny from outside of Hermione's door. Hermione smiled and got up to open the door for her red headed friend. "Hello Ginny, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked her, and then continued with "Don't you have to get ready for the Ball? It starts in a couple hours"  
  
Ginny just nodded "I thought it would be fun to get ready together!" her face was turned up into a gigantic smile and anyone could tell she was practically ready to burst with excitement. Hermione must have realized that Ginny was still standing outside her room, because she gestured for her to come inside "Oh, how rude of me! Please, come in"  
  
She opened the door wide enough for Ginny to enter, which she did, and Hermione saw Ginny's gown, which was beautiful, in her opinion. "Oh, gosh Gin!" Hermione exclaimed, and for a moment she wasn't a mature young adult, she was a giggling teenager. She quickly controlled herself though and said "That's a lovely gown."  
  
"Really?" Ginny asked her "Oh, thanks, I sure hope Harry likes it. I've been waiting for years for him to notice me and now he finally has!" She sighed and dramatically fell back onto Hermione's bed. She conveniently missed Hermione's guilty expression.  
  
"I'm sure Harry will love it", said Hermione  
  
*^*END FLASHBACK*^*  
  
Harry looked even worse by now, and he said, "I feel so awful". Hermione nodded along with him. "Don't blame yourself Harry, it wasn't supposed to go down like that," Hermione said in an attempt to comfort him  
  
"Its not your fault Potter, what were u supposed to do, stay with her for the rest of your life, just so she wouldn't join Voldemort!?" asked Draco, being more realistic  
  
"I suppose not, but I still feel responsible" Harry replied  
  
"How did she find out anyway?" asked Hermione, directing her question towards Harry, who shrugged  
  
*^*FLASHBACK*^*  
  
On the dance floor, Draco and Hermione are dancing with each other to a slow song, not really paying attention to anything else.  
  
"I'm really glad you asked me to be your date for the evening" Draco said staring at Hermione as they swayed back and forth. Hermione blushed and just replied with "As am I" then she leaned her head on Draco's shoulder.  
  
Draco loved every minute of the closeness. He had a rare smile on his face as he stroked her hair. Hermione was content in his arms and almost closed her eyes, wanting the moment to last for a long long time. That's when she saw Ginny and Harry dancing. She raised her head slightly and sent a smile over to them and gave a small wave. Ginny smiled and waved back. Harry didn't look like he was having as much fun as Ginny, but he didn't look like he was having a bad time either.  
  
Hermione sighed and placed her head on Draco's shoulder once more. "You look lovely tonight, Granger" Hermione looked up at him, with a puzzled expression. Draco shrugged his shoulders "I know your name is Hermione, sometimes Granger is appropriate. Like a pet name or something" he didn't know what to say, because Hermione had a smile on her face and was just gazing up at him "What?" he asked almost defensively.  
  
"Nothing" Hermione replied with "You're kind of cute, when you want to be, ~Malfoy~" she said with a small chuckle. "What are you talking about?" he asked scandalized, then continued with in an amused voice "I'm always cute" They both laughed at that and continued dancing around with one another.  
  
A fast beat song came on and they reluctantly released their grip on one another from the previous slow song. Draco turned to check on Harry for a moment, and was just in time to see the Ginny running out of the Great Hall and Harry chasing after her.  
  
They stopped dancing and ran over to where they saw Ginny and Harry exit and left the dance to follow them.  
  
When they finally found them, Ginny was yelling at Harry "Some Hero you are. They should call you The-Boy-Who-Doesn't-Give-A-Damn-About-Others!" she was starting to tear up and then continued with "Things didn't have to be this way, but I'm tired of being left out of everything! I'm tired of being the quiet one. I'm tired of being poor, and I'm tired of being in love with you! I quit! I bloody quit! The next time we meet, we'll be enemies, Potter!" then she pulled out an object and said, "I didn't think I'd be needing this, but I guess I was wrong. She whispered "Activate" just loud enough for them to hear and then she was gone.  
  
*^*END FLASHBACK*^*  
  
"That's how I remember it happening" said Hermione who turned to Draco and waited for his nod of approval. "Me as well" he agreed, distractedly "But I remember something else happened too. I just can't think of what" he rubbed his head a moment, sighing in frustration. "What about you Harry, you haven't told us exactly what happened, just that you didn't know what happened" Hermione urged him. "Well, I guess it happened like this.."  
  
*^*FLASHBACK*^*  
  
Harry and Ginny were dancing to a fast song, and chatting kind of nervously. Harry didn't know what to say because he didn't want to blow it, and Ginny didn't know what to say, because it was Harry Potter, her long time crush. She didn't want to mess up her chances.  
  
All of a sudden, a slow song came on, and Harry awkwardly put his arms around her and they began to sway back and forth. "So, Ginny, you look pretty tonight," Harry said, in an offhand sort of voice. Ginny didn't seam to notice though, and beamed with happiness "Thanks! You look really handsome," she returned with her own compliment. Harry's cheeks tinted a pinkish color.  
  
"Listen Ginny, I wanted to apologize for giving you the brush off the other day in Hogsmeade. Hermione had business to attend to and we were running late," Harry said to Ginny, who looked up in confusion. "Business? Well, how come Ron wasn't with you?" Harry's face darkened at the mention of Ron, and Ginny noticed. "Are you guys in a fight again?" she asked. "You could say that I guess" Harry replied, not wanting to upset Ginny by insulting her brother. Ginny and Harry moved around the Great Hall and noticed Hermione waving. Ginny waved back excitedly and soon the song was over.  
  
"Say, do you want something to drink?" Harry asked Ginny "Cause I'm parched" Ginny nodded her head, and walked over to the table she was sharing with Harry.  
  
Harry walked over to where the drinks were and ran into Pansy Parkinson "Hello Potter" she said in a mock friendly voice "Got a date with the Weasel I see" she commented "What made you ask her?" she asked him. "No reason that concerns you. I don't see what business it is of yours Parkinson" he replied back, "Now if you'll excuse me I have a date to attend to."  
  
Harry turned around and was face to face with a pissed off Ginny Weasley "Harry, I'm going to ask you this once. Why did you ask me to the ball?" her face was red, and she looked like she was furious. Harry shifted guiltily "Because I wanted to" he answered her. "Don't you bloody lie to me Harry! I know the real reason," she said to him.  
  
"What are you talking about Gin?" Harry asked, feigning ignorance. "Don't play dumb with me, this, you set it up with Hermione and Draco, as a plan or something. Well, I know all about it, and I hate you!"  
  
"Ginny, wait! I don't know who told you that, but they're wrong." Harry felt guilty for lying, but he couldn't risk Ginny going over to the dark side. "Stop!" and then she ran out of the Hall. Harry set down the drinks and chased after her.  
  
"Ginny! Ginny! Wait!" Harry yelled after her. By now they were outside in a courtyard and Ginny was fiddling with her robes looking for something. "Why would you think this was a set up?" Harry asked her "Because this is just too good to be true! I should have known you would never see me for who I am, but just someone you can't risk losing for the damn light side! Here comes Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World! Sure you save people, but at what cost, Harry?" Ginny asked him, angrily "You saved the world before, but at what cost, your parents, what about last year, who was the one to pay the price then? Cedric Diggory! And that's not even it Harry, you harm more people than you realize with emotional damage. But that's right, you're Harry Bloody Potter, the Golden Boy in everyone's eyes. You can do no wrong! Well, I'm sick of it!"  
  
"I hate that you can make me feel this way!" she said to him, shaking with rage "Well, no more! I'm tired of the Boy-Who-Just-Wont-Die" she spat at him. Just then Draco and Hermione ran outside.  
  
*^*END FLASHBACK*^*  
  
"That's about when you guys came outside," said Harry. "She's right. I do great things, but its always others who have to pay the price, no matter how hard I try" he laughed sardonically and looked defeated for a moment. "Harry, you know that's not true. Ginny's emotions were running high!" Hermione reasoned with him. Then Draco, who had remained quiet for most of the evening agreed with her "They're trying to break you" he said "I don't know how Ginny found out, but I watch people, that's not how Ginny acts. She must have been persuaded, that along with feeling bad about being tricked, probably triggered her anger" Draco said, then continued with "The part that stumps me is, how did she find out" said Draco. "Yeah, that's what gets me, I was with her all evening and she was fine then, all of a sudden she was just so angry. I went to go get drinks, but I was only gone for a few minutes" he stopped talking for a moment. "Wait a minute. I just remembered something," said Harry  
  
*^*FLASHBACK*^*  
  
Harry and Ginny were sitting at the table, taking a break from dancing. Harry was in conversation with Dean Thomas about Quidditch and Ginny looked kind of bored, so when Ron came up to her and asked for a dance with her sister she accepted "You don't mind do you Harry?" she asked him "Sure Ginny, have fun" Harry replied. Ginny and Ron danced for a few songs and then they returned. Harry barely noticed him though. "Come on Gin, lets dance some more" said Harry  
  
*^*END FLASHBACK*^*  
  
"It was Ron!" said Harry "I'd almost forgotten about that" Harry continued "He must have said something to her, but I still don't understand what!"  
  
"I mean, because after that, she was fine, it was only after I went and got drinks that she became angry" he finished  
  
"It doesn't make any sense," Hermione agreed. Draco nodded "We need more information, but I do believe that Ron let her in on our little secret, but how did he know in the first place?" Draco asked  
  
"I don't know" said Harry ", but I think that Pansy Parkinson knew as well. She was asking me about why I took Ginny while I was at the drink table. She seemed like she knew something I didn't"  
  
"Maybe, they are spying on us. I mean there are plenty of places to hide around Hogwarts," said Hermione  
  
"Hmmmm..Things are getting so tense around here" said Harry "We have this mystery with Hermione, Ginny is going to join Voldemort, we have that mind link thing to worry about, and the blood ritual that caused it, and now we have to worry about spies!"  
  
Just then someone stepped out of the shadows. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation, and I think I may have some of the missing pieces to the puzzle involving Ginny, b-but I don't understand it myself"  
  
They all turned their heads to get a look at who was helping them. It was none other than Neville Longbottom.  
  
"You know something Neville?" asked Hermione, excitedly "Could you tell us?" she asked him. He nodded his head and started tell his story.  
  
*^*FLASHBACK*^*  
  
Neville Longbottom didn't have a date for the ball, but he was content to sit around and watch the rest of the students enjoy themselves. He was sitting at a table that Ginny and Harry were at as well as Dean Thomas and his date. Right now Dean and Harry were talking about Quidditch and Ginny was sitting here looking bored.  
  
Out of nowhere, a fourth year friend, of Ginny's walked up to him and asked him to dance. He said yes and they walked out to the dance floor. They were joined shortly afterwards by Ron and Ginny. The girl Neville was dancing with was talking a mile a minute and he wasn't very interested, so he listened to Ginny and Ron's conversation.  
  
"I don't believe you Ron! Harry would never do that!" Ginny protested, but Ron just said "Pansy heard them, apparently they were spying on us that one day in the cave and heard us ask you if um-" he stopped "When you asked me if I wanted to join Voldemort?" Ginny asked him "Wait, I thought I put a memory charm on you" Ron said, indignantly. "It missed, so I faked it" Ron just chuckled at that. "Yeah, him, Hermione and Draco heard that conversation, so he knows you like him." Ginny gasped at this "But, but, oh gawd, I'm so embarrassed" she said. "Don't worry Ginny, I think he already knew"  
  
"So, that still doesn't explain why they would set me up like this" Ginny continued, but Ron just said "Harry only asked you, because they figured he was the only thing keeping you from going dark. So they decided to have him lead you on"  
  
Neville's eyes widened in shock **Ron is working for Voldemort? Ginny likes Harry? She might become a Death Eater too?** he thought to himself, in shock, but continued to listen  
  
"I don't believe you Ron!" Ginny practically shouted back at him "Fine, then ask him yourself. The next time he asks you if you want a drink, say "Veritaseti" and if he lies about something, his eyes will turn yellow." Then he handed her an object, Neville couldn't tell what it was but he soon found out. "After the evening is over, and you need this just say "Activate" and it will transport you to me."  
  
"Ron, I think this is a bit much," said Ginny, who was beginning to doubt Harry now. She would never tell Ron that, but she was planning on using that spell. Ron and Ginny talked a little more after that and left the dance floor. He watched Ginny as she sat down and then saw Harry ask her dance. Neville stayed on the dance floor and attempted some small talk with his dance partner, but in the end they both just decided to dance and not talk.  
  
He watched as Ginny and Harry danced a bit, and then he watched Ginny sit down back at the table, and she and Ron talked for a bit. Then he watched Ginny get up and walk over to Harry, who was at the drink table. He watched in shock as she pulled out her wand and yellow light hit Harry in the back.  
  
He continued dancing with his dance partner, never taking his eyes off Ginny and Harry who had a quick conversation, and then Ginny ran out of the Great Hall with Harry chasing after her.  
  
*^*END FLASHBACK*^*  
  
"So that's how she knew! That filthy bastard!" shouted Harry, talking about Ron "This is really bad!" said Hermione "I cant believe, both of them turned dark!" she started crying over the loss of two of her best friends. "It's starting to become like the old days," said Harry, thinking about a conversation from fourth year that he had with Sirius. "Tension is high, and it's getting to be where you don't know who to trust anymore." Harry commented. "We need to start casting silencing charms when we talk from now on" said Draco.  
  
"Thanks for the help Neville, it was much appreciated" said Harry "Yes, thank you Neville" said Hermione, who kissed him on the cheek. Neville Blushed and then stuttered "I-it was no p-problem. I sh-should get to bed now. G-night" then he walked away.  
  
"Well, this is just great!" said Harry sarcastically "Can we trust him?" asked Draco, indicating Neville. Harry nodded "I don't think he'd ever switch sides" Harry looked sad, after saying this "Why not?" asked Draco. "Its personal" was all that Harry would say, but Draco got the hint to not press any further.  
  
Hermione looked at her watch and realized how late it was "Oh Goodness! We need to get to bed"  
  
Harry yawned, "Yeah, we better hit the sack" Draco nodded and they all walked to the castle and went to their dormitories. Draco was reluctant to let Hermione go, but he did anyway because he knew he would see her the next day as he wouldn't be going home for the holidays and neither would she or Potter. "Night Hermione" said Draco, then paused "Night Potter" Harry just laughed a bit and said "Night Malfoy" Hermione smiled at her two friends and then gave Draco a chaste kiss on the lips.  
  
*~(^)~*~(^)~*~(^)~*  
  
Ginny Weasley didn't know where the portkey would take her, but when she landed on the ground and looked around her, she saw a beautifully furnished room, and she smiled. She felt that there was another presence in the room, and turned around to see someone she hadn't seen in a while.  
  
"Good evening Virginia"  
  
A/N: That's the end. I bet you know who it is! But guess anyways! Reviews are greatly appreciated. 


	23. Don't Just Sit There! We Have To Rescue ...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot  
  
Thanks to my reviewers, there are only going to be a few chapters left  
  
**Stars mean thought**  
  
On with the fic  
  
Ginny gasped as she saw the face of Tom Riddle, more commonly known as Lord Voldemort. Ginny had never really referred to him as that though and simply said "Tom?"  
  
He chuckled and said, "Yes, little Ginny, I didn't think I'd be seeing you," said Voldemort "What exactly brought you to grace my presence?"  
  
Ginny's face darkened and she clenched her fists "Revenge. I want revenge on Harry Potter!" Voldemort's mouth turned up into what could only be a smile and he said, "Excellent my dear, you can help with my master plan." He handed her a dagger and began to give her instructions. Ginny seemed a little shaken up at what she had to do and Voldemort noticed. "Are you sure your going to be able to do this?" he asked her, and then he shifted his features so that he looked like his 16 year old self "Your not going to let me down are you, Ginny?"  
  
Voldemort's persuasion was working because Ginny simply nodded and said "Anything for you, Tom"  
  
*~(^)~*~(^)~*~(^)~*  
  
(The Next Day)  
  
"What are we going to do?" Hermione wondered out loud. She was sitting in the common room with Harry. "I'm not sure Hermione. We need more information!"  
  
It looked like luck was shining down on them, because an unknown owl flew in and landed next to Harry. "It's from Snuffles," he said. "Quick!" shrieked Hermione, and then lowered her voice, because people were looking at her oddly "open it!"  
  
Harry nodded and tore open the letter. He read it silently and a big grin appeared on his face. "What's it say, Harry?" Hermione was bursting with curiosity. "I'll tell you in a minute. I need my cloak, and then we can find Draco" Harry rushed up the stairs to the boys dormitory and grabbed his invisibility cloak. He was about to leave, but turned back and took The Marauder's Map as well.  
  
Hermione was waiting for him at the portrait. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" she asked him, annoyed. "Not yet. We need to find Draco" They left the common room and pulled out The Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"  
  
They could see around the map and searched for Draco's dot. "There it is!" Hermione pointed excitedly. "He's in the library." Sure enough, Draco Malfoy was in the library. "Mischief Managed" Harry put the map in his pocket and then looked around to see if anyone was looking. No one was around so he threw the cloak around himself and Hermione and they walked to the library in silence.  
  
The library was fairly full today for some reason, so when the invisible Harry and Hermione tapped Draco on the shoulder, he was surprised to find no one there. He shrugged and turned around, but then Hermione whispered "Draco." He looked around curiously and there was even a bit of suspicion "We're under the cloak," said Harry. "Meet us by the statue of the Witch with the hump on her back. We'll explain there" Then they left the library and awaited Draco's arrival.  
  
Shortly after they arrived at the statue, Draco Malfoy showed up. "Hello?" he whispered uncertainly. Making sure that no one was looking, Harry pulled off his cloak and revealed himself and Hermione. "Listen, I cant explain now, but we need to meet Sirius in Hogsmeade" No one asked any questions about that, but Draco asked "And how are we going to get there?" doubtfully.  
  
"No trust" said Harry, laughing. He pulled out his wand and tapped the statue saying "Dissendium" Soon after a secret passage was revealed. Harry crawled inside and Draco and Hermione imitated him.  
  
It was a long walk to get to Honeydukes and it was made in silence. "We're almost there now," said Harry "Wow, I never knew Potter was such a rule breaker" Draco commented more to himself than to anyone else.  
  
When they reached the cellar of Honeydukes, they waited for an opportunity to get out of there, and after a few minutes, they were provided with one. "Glad to be out of there" said Hermione, when they were out of the store "I kept thinking we were going to get caught"  
  
"So, why are we going to meet Snuffles?" Hermione asked Harry. "All will be explained in time," he answered mysteriously. "Would you quit with the cryptic?" asked Draco.  
  
When they reached the cave, Hermione and Harry walked in confidently, but Draco hesitated for a moment, before following them. "So this is where Dumbledore and Sirius Black are staying," he commented  
  
"That would be correct," said Dumbledore, who only appeared a moment ago. "Professor Dumbledore!" screeched Hermione "you gave me a fright"  
  
"Sorry Ms. Granger" he replied with a chuckle. "So, what did you want to see us for, Professor?" asked Hermione. "I take it Harry didn't tell you then?" he asked her. "No" she sent a glare towards Harry "He didn't"  
  
"Well, I'm going to tell you. Sirius, you can come out now," Dumbledore shouted towards the back of the cave. A black dog trotted out and went up to Harry, who hugged him. Then he went over to Hermione and sat right by her, letting her stroke his head.  
  
"Well, please do go on" Hermione urged him to tell more. "Well, as you know, Voldemort wants Hermione here" he gestured to her "But you don't know why. You see Ms. Granger, you are actually, a pureblood witch" Hermione gasped and Harry and Draco looked kind of shocked "You mean, my parents, they're really wizards?"  
  
"Yes, your real parents are" Dumbledore replied, "My real parents, you mean, I'm adopted?" Hermione asked, shocked "Yes, you are" Dumbledore sighed "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this sooner, it was meant to be kept a secret, because if Voldemort ever found out, there would be dire consequences. Since he already knows, I'm afraid I can't keep it a secret from you any longer"  
  
"Who" she asked, absentmindedly running her fingers through Padfoot's fur "Who are they?"  
  
"Linda and Sirius Black"  
  
She immediately stopped stroking the grim like dogs hair and stared down at him. Everyone else in the room was silent for a few moments until Hermione spoke up "So that's why, I had to be" she started, then "That's why they couldn't take care of me, because Linda is dead, and Sirius was in prison" It must have just dawned on her, that Sirius was right there, because she said "Oh god! Sirius! Did he know?"  
  
"He knew that he had a child, but until a few days ago, he did not know it was you" The shaggy dog looked up at Hermione with hopeful eyes, and Hermione pulled him into a hug. "I'd always wondered why I don't look anything like my parents" Hermione said "Ever since I found out that I was a witch, they've been distant from me" she finished sadly.  
  
Harry looked kind of shocked and was taking in all the information, but then asked, "But, wait, why would it have been dangerous for Voldemort to find out about that?" he asked them  
  
"I was waiting for you to ask that," said Dumbledore with a small smile. "Sirius, I think you better take it from here"  
  
The dog nodded and then changed into the form of Sirius Black. He sent a smile to Harry and Hermione and then began to tell his story "You see, we marauders, were the best off friends, inseparable really. So, we decided to perform "The Friendship Link" it's an old ancient blood ritual that would bond us, and our offspring, and their offspring, for life." He paused to let all that he said, sink in. "Harry and I have a mind link" Hermione said, excitedly "When ever either of us needs the other, we call out with our minds, and the other hears it". Harry nodded and added, "We haven't tried to do anything else with it yet though."  
  
"Yes, that's what it's supposed to do," said Sirius "Anyway, all the marauders did this ritual, before we had our children, so you have all the marauder's blood running through your veins. Even Pettigrew," Sirius spat the name. "Bloody hell!" exclaimed Harry. Hermione didn't even scold him, for his language. "So why did Voldemort want me to have a child, what would that do?" Hermione asked them, curiously  
  
"That's the down side to the ritual. At the time, we didn't think much of it, but now it could prove to be fatal. The offspring would be able to control its parents, and anyone else who had the link"  
  
"Then why can't we use it to control Pettigrew?" asked Harry, wildly "That's the bad part, it only works, if all the members of the previous generation are alive. Since James is dead, your controlling powers are void."  
  
"But" said Hermione catching on "Harry and I are the only ones of our generation, so if I had a child, it would be able to control us"  
  
"That's right," said Sirius. "This is horrible!" Hermione exclaimed. "I know, and there is nothing we can do about it either." Sirius sighed. Draco Malfoy had remained remarkably quiet during the entire thing, but suddenly spoke up "I won't let anything happen to you Hermione" he said "I give you my word" Everyone remained silent for a moment, and then Dumbledore spoke up "Well, now you know. I think its time you guys head back to the castle though" No one moved.  
  
"Come on you guys, you can visit sometime later-" he was cut off, by Ginny Weasley who came into the cave. She had some blood on her face and she looked scared "You guys, I'm so sorry, about before, I didn't mean to-" she broke down into tears "Your bleeding" Harry commented. "Bleeding," repeated Hermione "blood! That's it!" she looked so excited and then she looked like she was about to cry. She ran up to Sirius and gave him a hug and then she looked at Ginny, who pulled out a knife "oh wait! I ~did~ mean to!" she made a grab at Hermione who screamed. Harry and Draco went to stop her, but just ended up touching the portkey Ginny just pulled out. In a matter of seconds, Ginny, Harry, Draco and Hermione were whisked away to who knows where.  
  
"NO!" shouted Sirius who made a grab at the air. Dumbledore looked almost defeated, but said nothing. "Don't just sit there! We have to rescue them!" exclaimed Sirius "Why aren't you moving?" he asked Dumbledore "I am afraid" he paused "that there is nothing we can do about it right now" he looked remorseful "We are both on the run, and we do not know their location at this moment" he finished rationally.  
  
"Why did Hermione behave that way when she said blood?" asked Sirius after he calmed down a bit. Dumbledore just gave him a pointed look "You don't mean" he started "I mean, she wouldn't. Would she??" Sirius asked  
  
A/N: That's it for now. Please review. 


	24. I'll Never Forget You

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story this is the last chapter, it may surprise some of you, but its here, anyways, I just wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story, you guys are what keeps me writing this story and I feel that I've grown a little as a writer. So, thank you all very much!  
  
Now..on with the story..  
  
"Excellent" said Voldemort, when Ginny, Harry, Draco and Hermione appeared in front of him. They, meaning the prisoners, Draco, Hermione and Harry, all looked around and took in their surroundings. They appeared to be in a cave of some sort. There were chains on the walls and one large chair, where Voldemort sat. Ginny stood up and dusted herself off, then walked over to where Voldemort was, and sat on his lap. "It was no problem Tom," she said with a smile. It wasn't a smile that one would normally see on Ginny Weasley's face. This smile was sinister and didn't really fit her features.  
  
"Ginny, how could you?" asked Harry, his face full of disappointment and betrayal. For a moment it looked like her face was filled with regret, but one look from Voldemort and it disappeared like it had never even been there. "Why do you even care ~Harry~, I'm just Ginny, poor little innocent girl, nothing more than Ron's little sister" she spat, her voice cracking because it was trembling with anger and sadness. "Well then I'm glad for one thing," said Harry, his eye's twinkling as he looked at her, his expression unreadable. "And what's that?" she asked, feigning disinterest. Harry waited a moment "At least," he looked all around him at everything in the room, his gaze finally settling on her "at least I never got to know you," he stopped a moment to laugh, "Because if this is it, I wasn't missing much."  
  
Ginny's face flushed red and she blinked. Her expression was one similar to that of having been slapped in the face. She looked down at the floor and her eyes were getting glazed. A fresh coat of tears ready to fall at any moment was held back. Ginny blinked them back and turned her head so that she was facing Harry once again. This time her face was full of rage. She didn't say anything back, but sent a look at Voldemort. He snapped his fingers and Death Eaters came towards the trio in the center of the room from all directions. Hermione grabbed onto Draco, and Harry stood up and faced them all, his wand held out. Voldemort started laughing a high, cold, cruel laugh and said "oh sorry, but you wont be needing that," he gestured to Harry's wand and then said "accio" it came flying thought the air towards him.  
  
"No!" yelled Draco, as his wand flew out of his hand as well. Before Voldemort got the chance to summon Hermione's wand, she threw it at him. Voldemort stared at her incredulously for a moment before his lips curled up into an evil smile. He clapped softly and said, "There's that Gryffindor bravery" mockingly. Hermione smiled back at him and wouldn't look away. Draco and Harry had absolutely no idea what she was up to, but remained quiet as the scene unfolded. "Ms. Granger" he started and got up to walk around her. He snapped his fingers again and Draco was dragged away to a side pillar not far away. "Don't worry, Tom wouldn't let you miss the show" said Ginny while he was being tied up.  
  
Hermione remained in the center of the room. Voldemort was still circling her as a predator does its prey. "I bet your wondering why I've taken such an interest in you" he looked at her as he spoke and was almost started when she shook her head "I've figured it out." He looked mildly impressed "Well, you always were the smart one, weren't you?" he laughed and traced his finger along her face. It sent shivers down her spine, and they weren't the good kind. "Then I guess you'll know why I still have young Potter here by your side."  
  
Hermione and Harry shared a shocked look for a moment, and then realization dawned upon them. "Harry and I? You want Harry and I to have a child?" she asked slightly disgusted "He's like my brother, do you have any idea how disgusting that is? No offense Harry" she added as an afterthought. "You may laugh about this now, but when your under my control you certainly wont be," Voldemort said with a sneer. Apparently he doesn't like those who don't take him seriously. "But why him?" asked Hermione. "Well, I thought a girl as smart as you would have figured that out by now. The blood ritual, I'm sure you know all about it, if you two were to procreate, the blood in your child would be stronger, meaning better control over you two"  
  
Hermione gasped. "No" she practically whispered. She wrapped her arms around herself and then her face turned up into a bittersweet smile. Suddenly she started laughing insanely. It wasn't like Hermione and those around her wondered if she might be going mad under the pressure. "I won't do it. I won't bear the child that you want, now or ever."  
  
"Doesn't matter, dear," said Voldemort, "I can always mix your blood with his and make a child with blood magick" he laughed cruelly and stared at her. "So what are you going to do now? What do you have left?" he asked her then continued with "No friends, no wand, and no hope." She stared at him for a moment, and then said simply "What do I have left? I have myself" then she paused "and this."  
  
Then a bunch of events all happened with quick succession. Hermione turned around and sent a look of love at Draco. Then she turned to Harry and stared at him for a long moment. He looked back at her with shock and disbelief and moved forward as though to come closer to her, but it was too late. Whatever Harry was trying to do, he was too late. Hermione closed hey eyes in concentration and summoned her wand with her hand. She pointed it towards Draco who had already undone his chains. He came flying at her but stopped short "Stupefy" she shot that at Voldemort. She ripped off her necklace, said "Portius" and gave it to Harry and Draco, then before anyone could stop her she pulled out Ginny's knife and stabbed herself through the Heart. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" yelled three voices at once. They belonged to Harry, Draco and surprisingly Ron Weasley.  
  
He had appeared from the shadows and watched as Hermione fell to the ground, a puddle of blood slowly surrounding her dead body. The other Death Eaters fled the scene including Ginny Weasley. "Get out of here Ron" Harry spat at him through his own tears. "But-", Ron started, but was cut off by Harry "Now! Just get out of my sight" he looked at Ron, his expression full of loathing. Harry never looked at anyone that way and frankly, Ron was scared. He ran out of the cave and the only ones left were Draco, Harry and Hermione.  
  
They looked upon her and her face, once so full of life was dull and dead. She was so pale, and so young. It wasn't right. She had so much more to do with her life, so much more.her eyes no longer held the spark that made Draco so drawn to her and yet in that moment, he knew that he loved her.  
  
"I can't believe she did it," said Harry, his voice full of disbelief. "A witch's last magic" said Draco who was still tied up. "She sacrificed herself, so save us" he commented from the other side of the room. "Sometimes, war is about Sacrifices" Harry said quietly. "What!? Is that all you can say?" Draco asked, his voice full of anger and loss "After what- " he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence "After she did that."  
  
"Hermione said that to me once. She told me that war was about sacrifices and that sometimes, innocent people get wronged. I guess she was right." He laughed bitterly. Draco was quiet for a moment, and then he took one more look at Hermione, and for the first time in years, he cried. "She - can't - be - dead. She just CAN'T be! I won't allow that!" He grabbed her and began shaking her. He didn't care that he was getting her blood all over "Come back! You have to come back!" he couldn't accept that she was gone "you can't just leave me here" he brought her close to him and stroked her hair whispering things. "I need you Hermione, you cant go away, I love you," but even he knew that she wasn't going to come back. She was never going to wake up. He let her out of his arms and collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. After all those years of being a closed person, it just was all too much for him, it was all just adding up. He let go.  
  
Harry stared on, being quiet out of respect, but took Draco's hand. "We need to get out of here, and bring Hermione." he stopped ".and bring the body back." Draco just stared at him "How can you be so calm about this?!" he asked indignantly "She's not just a body! She's Hermione! And now, she's never coming back!" he exclaimed, looking at Harry in anger. For the first time, he noticed that Harry had tears running down his own face he looked like a lost little boy "I have to be strong. That's what I do, Draco. I'm strong, so everyone around me can be okay, so they can make it through." Harry's voice was wavering and Draco knew that any moment now, he was going to lose it. Harry had suffered many losses in his life, but none as great as this.  
  
Draco just stared at the boy he had been enemies with for over five years in a new light. This is why so many people are drawn to him. He's the light in the bloody darkness, the hope when there isn't any. He's the damn Boy- Who-Lived. "We have to bring her back," said Draco, agreeing with Harry to make it easier on him. They found their wands and then grabbed onto Hermione "Activate" whispered Draco, halfheartedly and they were whisked away to Hogwarts.  
  
When they got back, they found Dumbledore outside waiting. "Dumbledore, what are you doing out here!?" yelled Harry, then stopped and said "Never mind, that doesn't matter. Hermione, she's, she's d-d-dead" Dumbledore's smile faded within a matter of seconds and he looked upon her. "Oh dear, this is terrible, quick, lets get her to Madam Pomphrey" they raced inside to the infirmary, with hope that Hermione might have made it. When they got her, she was rushed away to a bed and Harry, Draco and the Headmaster, were left to wait in silence. It was tense as they waited for Madam Pomphrey to return with the results. After about an hour she returned to the area that the boys were waiting anxiously, her expression grave. "I'm sorry" was all she said, but it was enough. Draco paused for a moment, but then ran out of the room.  
  
When they found him, hours later, he was down by the lake, staring at nothing. His expression was hard and it took Harry forever to get him to come inside. "Before she.died, she sent me a message. I know that for a fact, but I cant seem to remember it" Harry told them. Sirius was there too, as they were in an abandoned classroom. "I think I know a way to help. We used to do this when we wanted to remember our dreams. Clear your mind" he said sadly, but holding himself together for Harry and Draco. It would be hours later while he was alone that he would cry for Hermione and the loss, for the fact that they hadn't had a life together. Harry's expression became blank after about ten minutes, and then Sirius asked "Remember Hermione, Harry. Remember her message."  
  
"I remember the message" he said, emotionless. "Recite it for us please" said Professor Dumbledore. It took Harry a moment, but then he said, clearly "Harry? Harry can you hear me? I know your going to hate me for this, but I have to do it. He wants the blood, but I just can't let him have it. Draco will know what I'm talking about. Tell him it's in the book from that day in the library" Draco gasped at this, but listened as Harry continued "Tell Sirius that I'm sorry we never got to know each other, but that you two had better live together and have a great life. Send Draco my love, and I'll see you again someday. Goodbye Harry, I love you" he finished in his trance like state. Sirius snapped his fingers and then Harry snapped out of it. "Oh, god, I remember it all now."  
  
They all stared at each other for a moment until grief over whelmed them. Voldemort was the cause of so much loss, so much suffering, and even to end it all must there be even more suffering. They hoped that wherever Hermione was that she was happy in a world without Voldemort.  
  
Draco would never get over Hermione, but after a few months, he could be found in the cemetery where Hermione was buried. "I miss you, Hermione. You bloody showed me the light. I'll never forget you for that, or for anything. I wish I had figured this out before you.well you know. I know I'm never this inarticulate, but then again, the only time I ever wasn't was the times I spent with you. I never told you this, but I was, I am in love with you. It might not do much good now, but one day, maybe if I see you again. Who knows if we'll even end up in the same place, I just wanted you to know." He set some flowers down at her grave and lingered for a moment "Later Granger."  
  
Voldemort was still out there in the world, pissed off and gaining more power still, but things would one day be okay. Those who knew Hermione had her memory to help them go on, to be stronger. One day, they would defeat Voldemort and they would do it in her memory.  
  
The end Don't get pissed off at me! There might be a sequel!  
  
A/N: I know it's sad and you must hate me, but I have been planning this ending for a while now. I had to make it this way because love isn't always perfect like in the stories and life doesn't always turn out to be some grand show, not in war. In this story, they were at war, and when in war, there ARE sacrifices. Anyway, I hope you liked my story and I'm not sorry if you didn't. Maybe if you read closely you saw the foreshadowing. 


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